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Nutritional Microbiology/Microbiome/Microbiome Nutrition (Poster Session)

(P19-057-25) Associations Between Live Dietary Microbe Intakes and Health Outcomes, Analyses of the KHANES 2016-2020 Data

Sunday, June 1, 2025
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board B-98

    Presenting Author(s)

  • YZ

    Yue Zhan, MA

    PhD Candidate
    Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • NZ

    Naisi Zhao, MHS, DrPH

    Post-Doc Scholar
    Tufts University School of Medicine Department of Public Health and Community Medicine
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

  • JC

    Jihee Choi

    Gachon University, Republic of Korea

  • Hae-Jeung Lee (she/her/hers)

    Professor
    Gachon University
    Seongnam-si, Kyonggi-do, Republic of Korea

  • Mei Chung, PhD, MPH (she/her/hers)

    Associate Professor
    Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Disclosure(s):
Yue Zhan, MA: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Hae-Jeung Lee: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: The consumption of live microbes, beyond probiotics, is associated with health benefits. This study aimed to quantify live microbe intake in 2016-2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), and to investigate the associations between live microbe intake and health outcomes.

Methods: We developed a KNHANES live microbe classification system based on the Sanders system and divided KNHANES food codes that overlapped with NHANES into four categories: no live microbe or low ( < 104 CFU/g), medium (104–107 CFU/g), and high ( >107 CFU/g) levels. Microbe data on various types of kimchi were obtained from World Kimchi Institute and data on other non-overlapping food codes were determined based on literature and authoritative reviews. We performed descriptive analyses on live microbe intakes among adults aged 19 y and older. We then conducted survey-weighted adjusted regression analyses to evaluate the relationship between live microbe intake and cardiometabolic health outcomes, controlling for age, sex, body mass index, household income, physical activity level, current smoking status, and alcohol intake.

Results: The mean daily intake of medium live microbe foods was 179.48 g in Korean population, while high live microbe foods averaged 122.49 g. Kimchi contributed a significant portion, with a mean intake of 102.44 g. An additional 100-g intake of medium or high live microbe–containing foods was associated with a lower C-reactive protein (coefficient: -0.006; 95% CI: -0.01, -0.002 mg/dL) and a lower weight (coefficient: 0.06; 95% CI: 0.041, 0.038 kg). The associations were significantly different among age groups. We did not find statistically significant associations between live microbe intake and other health outcomes.

Conclusions: This study provides new data on dietary intakes of live microbes and their potential health benefits in a nationally representative data set of Korean adults.

Funding Sources: Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences