The impact of western versus agrarian diet consumption on gut microbiome composition and immune dysfunction in people living with HIV in rural and urban Zimbabwe

作者：Angela Sofia Burkhart Colorado, Nichole Nusbacher, John B. O’Connor, Tyson Marden, Janine Higgins, C. Preston Neff, Suzanne Fiorillo, Thomas Campbell, Margaret Borok, Kathryn Boyd, John Sterrett, Brent E. Palmer, Catherine Lozupone · 发表于：Microbiome · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1186/s40168-026-02410-z · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Gut microbiota and health、HIV-related health complications and treatments、Nutritional Studies and Diet

BACKGROUND: People living with HIV (PLWH) suffer from chronic inflammation even with effective antiretroviral therapy (ART). A high-fat, low-fiber western-type diet has been linked with inflammation, in part through gut microbiome changes. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a region with high HIV burden, urbanization has been linked with a shift from traditional agrarian towards westernized diets, and with changes in food security. To explore the relationship between diet, inflammation, and the gut microbiome in PLWH, we enrolled 1) ART Naïve PLWH who provided samples before and after 24 weeks of ART, 2) PLWH on ART at both timepoints and 3) HIV-seronegative controls. Individuals were evenly recruited from rural and urban Zimbabwe. Using a food frequency survey designed to measure intake of agrarian versus western-type food items in Zimbabwe, we determined how diet differs with urbanization, HIV-infection and treatment, and is related to inflammation and the gut microbiome. RESULTS: Individuals residing in a rural area of Zimbabwe less frequently consumed high-fat, low-fiber western type food items and had lower consumption of diverse food items overall, except for sadza, a subsistence staple, processed from home-grown grains. Consumption of a more western-type diet correlated with lower CD4 + T cell percentage in untreated and treated PLWH and increased T cell exhaustion in PLWH on ART. PLWH on ART at time of enrollment also consumed diverse food items at a lower frequency and mor...