Association between Faecalibacterium prausnitzii Reduction and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review of the Literature

Background. Laboratory data suggests a reduction of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (F. prausnitzii) is confirmed both in fecal samples in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. Numerous observational studies have suspected dysbiosis, an imbalance between protective and harmful bacteria to be relevant to the etiology and pathogenesis of IBD. Methods. Medline, EMBASE, Pubmed, and others. were searched by 2 independent reviewers. Of 48 abstracts reviewed, 11 studies met our inclusion criteria (subject N = 1180). Meta-analysis was performed with Review Manager 5.2. Results. The bacterial count of F. prausnitzii in IBD patients was significantly lower (6.7888 ± 1.8875) log10 CFU/g feces than healthy controls (7.5791 ± 1.5812) log10 CFU/g feces; P < 0.0001. The Standardization Mean Difference of F. prausnitzii in IBD patients was −0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI]: −1.07–−0.80). Subgroup analyses revealed a trend toward a greater effect for CD (SMD: −1.13, 95% CI: −1.32–−0.94) when compared to UC (SMD: −0.78, 95% CI: −0.97–−0.60). Conclusions. The abundance of F. prausnitzii was decreased in IBD patients compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, the reduction of F. prausnitzii and misbalance of the intestinal microbiota are particularly higher in CD patients with ileal involvement.