Gut microbiome has been shown to play a role in the development of obesity in recent studies. Most of these studies on obesity were based on the BMI classification criteria, which doesn't distinguish Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) from subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). Some studies showed that VAT has a higher risk of inducing metabolic diseases than SAT. This study focused on the visceral obesity defined by increased visceral fat area. The present study was designed to investigate the association of visceral obesity with gut predominant microbiota and metabolic status. This study included 372 healthy individuals from medical examination center in Shulan Hangzhou Hospital. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) technique was used to detect ten kinds of gut predominant bacteria in fresh feces. Visceral fat area (VFA) was measured by the bioimpedance analyzer (INBODY720, Korea). The abundance of Bifidobacterium significantly decreased in the visceral obesity group. Compared with the lean group, Visceral obesity group had significantly higher levels of LDL, TG, FBG, serum uric acid (SUA) and lower levels of HDL. SUA was an independent impact factor for Bifidobacterium. SUA was negatively correlated with Bifidobacterium and positively correlated with VFA. In the mediation analysis, SUA showed significant mediation effect. SUA may be a mediating factor between decreased Bifidobacterium and increased VAT.

Many studies have found that people with obesity have significant gut microbiota dysbiosis. Most of these studies on obesity were based on the BMI classification criteria, which doesn't distinguish Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) from subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). However, research showed that VAT has a higher risk of inducing metabolic diseases than SAT. This study focused on the visceral obesity defined by increased visceral fat area. It assessed the association of visceral obesity with gut predominant microbiota and metabolic status. This study included 388 individuals from medical examination center in our hospital. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) technique was used to detect ten kinds of gut predominant bacteria in fresh feces. visceral fat area (VFA)was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis. According to the VFA results, the individuals were divided into two groups: Visceral obesity group (VFA ≥ 100cm2) and lean control group (VFA < 100cm2). The results showed that the abundance of Bifidobacterium significantly decreased in the Visceral obesity group and combined with metabolic indicators such as Serum uric acid, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) and fasting blood sugar (FBS), serum uric acid was an independent influencing factor for bifidobacterial. serum uric acid was negatively correlated with Bifidobacterium. serum uric acid was positively correlated with visceral fat area. The results suggested that serum uric acid was probably a mediator to the link between decreased Bifidobacterium and increased visceral adipose tissue.