Definition of a Dietary Pattern Expressing the Intake of Vegetables and Fruits and Its Association with Intestinal Microbiota

Daily dietary habits directly or indirectly influence the intestinal microbiota, and the resulting changes in its composition and metabolic activity alter the health conditions of the host. Although many studies have analyzed the association between individual nutrients/food items and intestinal microbiota, the assessment of the diet and intestinal microbiota from a macroscopic perspective has not yet been performed in Japan. Therefore, we focused on vegetables and fruits and aimed to identify dietary patterns of high intake of these foods and to examine their relationship with the intestinal microbiota. This cross-sectional study included 1019 healthy individuals aged ≥20 years in a rural area in northern Japan. Six dietary patterns were detected by factor analysis using the brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire (BDHQ) data to identify the “vege pattern”, which was the dietary pattern rich in vegetables and fruits. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance revealed changes in β-diversity according to dietary patterns. In multivariable-adjusted models, the adherence to the vege pattern was positively correlated with α-diversity. This is the first study to reveal a correlation between intestinal microbiota and dietary habits rich in vegetables and fruits in a rural area of Japan.