The Presence of Methanogenic Bacteria,Identified During Clinical Breath Testing,Is Not Associated with a Higher Body Mass Index in a U.S. Midwestern Population

Abstract

Background:

Prior studies have shown some evidence for associations between the presence of methane on clinical breath testing and body mass index (BMI) in a California population, but this association has not been replicated in different regions of the country.

Methods:

Data from 470 consecutive glucose breath test studies performed between January 2003 and August 2013 with available patient BMI data were retrospectively reviewed.

Results:

A total of 292 (62%) studies were methane positive. The BMI of methane-positive patients (27.6) was not significantly different from the BMI of methane-negative patients (27.8; p=0.73). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of methane-positive patients based on BMI groupings (p=0.96). There was no significant change in BMI in the year prior to the study date (p=0.61) or the year after the study date (p=.83). Within the methane-positive group, there was a nonsignificant trend toward methane production inversely correlating with BMI (R²=0.012, p=0.06).

Conclusions:

In a largely overweight Midwestern population, the presence of methanogenic bacteria is not associated with a higher BMI. Results regarding the relationship between the presence of methanogenic bacteria and BMI in populations from one geographic region cannot be readily extrapolated to other regions.