# A Prospective Study of Lifestyle, the Gut Microbiome, and Diverticulitis.

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2021 · $509,698

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
This application addresses PAR-18-042, Ancillary Studies to Major Ongoing Clinical Research Studies to
Advance Areas of Scientific Interest within the Mission of the NIDDK, through a prospective study of diet, lifestyle
and the gut microbiome in a large, prospective cohort. Diverticulitis is one of the most common gastrointestinal
indications for hospitalization in the U.S. as well as a frequent indication for outpatient clinic visits. At least 20%
of individuals with an initial episode will have one or more recurrences. Currently, there is no proven medical
means to prevent diverticulitis. Several lines of evidence support the scientific premise that the interaction
between diet and lifestyle factors and the gut microbiome plays a critical role in the etiopathogenesis of
diverticulitis. However, no study has prospectively examined the relationship between diet, lifestyle, the gut
microbiome and diverticulitis risk, or used metagenomic or metabolomic analysis to elucidate microbial genes,
pathways and products important in this disease. Prospective studies are critical to offer rigorous data to infer
causality. Symptoms are likely to subsequently influence diet and lifestyle, which, along with disease-associated
inflammation and antibiotics, can change gut microbial profiles. Cross-sectional studies are thus unable to
distinguish if lifestyle or microbial associations are a consequence or cause of the disease. Thus, we propose a
first-of-its-kind large, prospective study to examine diet, lifestyle, and the gut microbiome/metabolome, in relation
to incident and recurrent diverticulitis. In this ancillary study, we will leverage ongoing, already supported
collection of stool samples from 35,000 participants enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) II. This cohort of
female nurses aged 25-42 years were enrolled in 1989 and have been followed biennially with validated
assessments of diet, lifestyle, and medical history with >90% follow-up. After stool collection, we will follow the
cohort for incident and recurrent diverticulitis and collect new data through a follow-up stool sample and post-
diagnostic diet/lifestyle survey. All cases of diverticulitis will be confirmed via record review. To characterize the
gut microbiome and metabolome, we will utilize cutting-edge platforms and analytic pathways. Prospectively
collected, pre-diagnostic stool samples from a large cohort of individuals with validated data on clinical, dietary
and lifestyle exposure over extended follow-up provide an unprecedented, cost-effective opportunity to examine
the relationship between the gut microbiome, metabolome, diet and lifestyle factors, and diverticulitis. This study
is critical to understanding the pathogenesis of this poorly understood condition with high economic and clinical
burden, laying the groundwork for clinical trials of predictive biomarkers and lifestyle modification or therapeutic
manipulation of gut microbes for prevention of complications an...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10213011
- **Project number:** 5R01DK101495-07
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Andrew T Chan
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $509,698
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-08-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10213011

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10213011, A Prospective Study of Lifestyle, the Gut Microbiome, and Diverticulitis. (5R01DK101495-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10213011. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*