Gut Microbiota in Metabolic Surgery

November 2, 2025 updated by: Danxia Yu, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

The Gut Microbiota in Metabolic Surgery: A Multi-Ethnic, Multi-Omic, Longitudinal Study

Metabolic surgery is an emerging option to treat obesity-related metabolic diseases (e.g., type 2 diabetes) and prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). Metabolic surgery can profoundly alter the gut microbiota; meanwhile, gut microbiota may affect surgical outcomes. Longitudinal studies that examined pre- to post-surgery changes in gut microbiota and its relation to cardiometabolic health after surgery are limited. Furthermore, few studies have included African Americans, a population with high rates of cardiometabolic diseases. The investigators aim to fill these research gaps by establishing a longitudinal, observational study of metabolic surgery patients and applying multi-omics to identify stool, blood, and/or tissue microbial features related to post-surgery cardiometabolic outcomes. In the current study, the investigators plan to enroll up to 300 patients who undergo metabolic surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and follow them for up to 10 years after surgery. Fasting blood and stool samples will be collected at pre-surgery and 3-month, 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year post-surgery clinical visits. Tissue samples (e.g., biopsies of the liver and adipose and remnants of the stomach) will be collected during operation. Meanwhile, participants will complete a REDCap survey at baseline and 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year post-surgery. Participants' electronic medical records will be used to obtain additional information and facilitate long-term follow-up. The investigators will evaluate pre- to post-surgery changes in the fecal microbiome and fecal and blood levels of metabolites and proteins and the associations of microbiome, metabolites, and proteins with cardiometabolic improvements after surgery. This study will advance our understanding of the role of gut microbiota in metabolic surgery, which may translate into novel approaches to identify and treat obese patients for better cardiometabolic health.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

300

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

We plan to enroll 300 patients who undergo metabolic surgery at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and follow them up to 10 years after surgery

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Be approved and scheduled for metabolic surgery at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  • Have a history of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia
  • Be able and willing to provide personal information and biological samples needed for the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prior gastric operations
  • A history of coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, HIV infection, or untreated viral hepatitis
  • Chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer within 2 years
  • Current inflammatory bowel disease or celiac disease
  • Vomiting, constipation, or diarrhea within 7 days or use of antibiotics within 2 months

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Estimated 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
Time Frame: From before surgery to 1 to 3-year after surgery to 10-year after surgery
The 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease based on the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association pooled cohort equations, incorporating age, sex, race, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, diabetes status, hypertension status, and smoking
From before surgery to 1 to 3-year after surgery to 10-year after surgery

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Glycated hemoglobin
Time Frame: From before surgery to 1 to 3-year after surgery to 10-year after surgery
From before surgery to 1 to 3-year after surgery to 10-year after surgery
Blood pressure
Time Frame: From before surgery to 1 to 3-year after surgery to 10-year after surgery
From before surgery to 1 to 3-year after surgery to 10-year after surgery
Blood cholesterol
Time Frame: From before surgery to 1 to 3-year after surgery to 10-year after surgery
Total, low-density, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol
From before surgery to 1 to 3-year after surgery to 10-year after surgery
Blood inflammatory proteins
Time Frame: From before surgery to 1 to 3-year after surgery to 10-year after surgery
high-sensitivity C-reactive protein
From before surgery to 1 to 3-year after surgery to 10-year after surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Collaborators

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 19, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2035

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 2, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 10, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

August 11, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

November 4, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 2, 2025

Last Verified

November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • VUMC_IRB#201652
  • R01DK126721 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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