Identification and quantification of Roseburia intestinalis and Escherichia coli in hypertensive patients in Denpasar

Background: Low-grade chronic inflammation may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis as well as hypertension by inducing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Several studies have revealed a relationship between the microbiota living in the gut and the incidence of hypertension. Two of several gut microbiota that contributed, in this case, are Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Roseburia intestinalis (R. intestinalis). Therefore this study aimed to identify and quantify gut microbes namely R. intestinalis and E.coli in hypertensive patients in Bali, especially in Denpasar City. Methods: This research is a cross-sectional study located at South Denpasar Health Center I, Bali, and the Integrated Biomedical Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Udayana. The sample in this study were hypertensive patients who had been registered at South Denpasar Health Center I and who met the inclusion criteria and did not meet the exclusion criteria. The E. coli and R. intestinalis concentrations were assessed by conducting DNA isolation and RT-qPCR. Statistical analysis using univariate analysis, bivariate analysis using the Independent T-Test; Mann-Whitney Test; Chi-Square, and ROC analysis Results: There were 70 subjects included in this study. Thirty-one subjects were hypertensive patients and the other 39 patients were not hypertensive. The age of the subjects between the two groups was found statistically significant (p=0.007). We also found that comorbid were found mostly in hypertensive patients (p=0.009). Most of the comorbid experienced among them were cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus. Hypertensive subjects had more E. coli concentration in their gut compared with non-hypertensive subjects (p=0.048), while R. intestinalis concentrations were similar in both groups (p>0.05). From the multivariate analysis, it was found that hypertensive patients tended to have a higher concentration of E. coli than non-hypertensive patients (p=0.012; 95% CI:0.055–0.417). Conclusion: E. coli concentration in the gut is independently associated with the incidence of hypertension, while R. intestinalis concentration is not.