Effects of a Composite Dietary Fiber Intervention on Functional Dyspepsia in Adolescents Mediated by Gut Microbiota Modulation: A 16S rRNA Sequencing Study
Background: Adolescent functional dyspepsia (FD) is highly prevalent and closely linked to intestinal microbiota imbalance. Dietary fiber exerts prebiotic effects by regulating gut flora, but targeted studies on its efficacy in improving adolescent FD via modulating intestinal microbiota remain insufficient. This study aimed to explore the related mechanism using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. Methods: Thirty-two adolescents with FD were randomly divided into intervention group (n=15, 15 g/d Licun composite dietary fiber for 28 d) and control group (n=17, regular diet). Fecal samples were collected post-intervention for 16S rRNA V3-V4 region sequencing. Microbiota diversity, community structure and differential taxa were analyzed, along with an assessment of digestive symptom improvement. Results: The intervention group not only exhibited a higher digestive symptom improvement rate (66.7% vs 47.1%), but also demonstrated significantly increased gut microbiota alpha-diversity and displayed distinct separation in microbiota structure based on beta-diversity analysis. Moreover, the intervention significantly enriched beneficial genera such as Akkermansia, Romboutsia and Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group, and optimized microbial community structure. Conclusions: Composite dietary fiber supplementation elevates intestinal microbiota diversity, enriches beneficial bacteria and optimizes flora structure, thereby alleviating adolescent FD. These findings provide a theoretical basis for dietary fiber intervention to improve adolescent intestinal and digestive health.