Dietary live microbes intake and its association with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality: Shreds of evidence from NHANES 2005-2018

This study investigated the relationship between dietary live microbes intake and the risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality using data from 36,720 participants in the NHANES 2005-2018. Dietary live microbes intake was classified into low, medium, and high categories based on 24-hour dietary recall. All-cause mortality was the primary outcome, with cardiovascular mortality as the secondary. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for confounders, were applied in R software ( P < 0.05). Higher intake groups showed significantly lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality ( P < 0.001). The Cox models confirmed reduced all-cause mortality risk in medium (HR = 0.89) and high intake groups (HR = 0.69) compared to low intake. Cardiovascular mortality was also lower in the high intake group (HR = 0.70). Subgroup analyses revealed consistent benefits, with a stronger effect in younger individuals. These findings highlight the potential of dietary live microbes in reducing mortality, warranting further prospective studies.