A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Higher abundance of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in the gut microbiome is associated with a lower risk of sepsis development among 6,372 individuals followed for 20 years; 
Authors: Diab, Hassan; Kullberg, Robert F. J.; Yeo, Li-Fang; Wikki, Irina; Salomaa, Veikko; Havulinna, Aki; Lahti, Leo; Pärnänen, Katariina; Jalkanen, Sirpa; Salmi, Marko; Nieuwdorp, Max; Knight, Rob; Wiersinga, W. Joost; Palmu, Joonatan; Niiranen, Teemu
Editors: Huang Shi
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Publication year: 2026
Journal: MSystems
Article number: e00645-26
eISSN: 2379-5077
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00645-26
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00645-26
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/527049429
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
The human gut microbiome has been suggested to be linked with the risk of developing sepsis, a life-threatening medical emergency. However, it remains unclear whether the gut microbiome is an independent predictor of long-term sepsis risk in the general adult population. Here, we investigated for the first time the prospective association between the gut microbiome and incident sepsis in the general population. The study sample (FINRISK) consisted of 6,372 individuals who underwent fecal sampling in 2002 and were followed for incident sepsis. We used multivariable-adjusted models to study the associations of microbial alpha-diversity, beta-diversity, taxa, butyrate producers, and predicted pathways with incident sepsis. Two hundred and forty participants developed sepsis over a follow-up of 19.8 years. A 1-SD increase in Faecalibacterium prausnitzii_C_71351 abundance was associated with 21% (95% CI, 10%–30%; FDR = 0.03) lower risk of sepsis. Higher abundances of six other species were associated with higher sepsis risk (FDR < 0.05 for all). Five of these species were positively associated with C-reactive protein. The species-sepsis associations were consistent across various subgroups. Moreover, in an independent validation cohort of 4,248 individuals, we found a similar association between Faecalibacterium and a lower risk of future sepsis. Additionally, overall pathways related to carbohydrate degradation, energy production, and sulfur metabolism were positively linked to incident sepsis. We did not detect any associations of alpha-diversity, beta-diversity, or butyrate producers with incident sepsis. Future studies should investigate the causality of these associations and the mechanisms by which the identified species may influence sepsis development.
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Funding information in the publication:
H.D. has received a grant from The ImmuDocs Doctoral Education Pilot. L.-F.Y. has received a research grant co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Framework programme for research and innovation 2021–2027 under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 101126611. V.S. has received a research grant from the Juho Vainio Foundation. K.P. has received a postdoctoral grant (348439) from the Research Council of Finland. K.P. has received Academy Research Fellow Funding 368511 in addition to the postdoctoral funding. S.J. has received a grant from the Finnish Research Council. J.P. has received research grants from the Paavo Nurmi Foundation and the Finnish Medical Foundation. T.N. has received funding for this work from the Research Council of Finland, Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research, and the Wellbeing Services County of Southwest Finland.
The HELIUS study is conducted by Amsterdam University Medical Center, location AMC, and the Public Health Service of Amsterdam. Both organizations provided core support for HELIUS. The HELIUS study is also funded by the Dutch Heart Foundation, the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), the European Union (FP-7), and the European Fund for the Integration of non-EU immigrants (EIF).
The IT Centre for Science (CSC) is acknowledged for providing computational resources.
