Gut microbiome profiles in patients with nociceptive pain, neuropathic pain, and pain-free controls: a case-control study
Authors' conclusion
Together, these findings indicate that gut microbiome differences across chronic pain phenotypes are subtle, characterized mainly by changes in low-abundance taxa rather than broad community shifts
Study context
- Population
- Individuals with nociceptive or neuropathic low back pain and pain-free controls
- Participants
- 10 / 10 / 10
- Comparison
- Nociceptive vs neuropathic low back pain vs pain-free controls
- Nociceptiven = 10
- Neuropathicn = 10
- Pain-free controlsn = 10reference
- Outcome
- Gut microbiome profiles (16S rRNA V4 sequencing)
- Follow-up
- Baseline and after 3 months
Methodological detailslongitudinal, Pain patients resampled after standard-of-care treatment; controls resampled for background temporal variation
- Longitudinal
- Pain patients resampled after standard-of-care treatment; controls resampled for background temporal variation
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Entropy-based alpha-diversity indices did not differ between groups or over time
- Richness-based metrics suggested possible reduction in neuropathic-dominant group in pairwise contrasts after rarefaction; omnibus group effects not significant
- Overall microbial community structure did not differ between pain groups and controls
- No population-specific or population-by-time effects at genus or amplicon sequence variant level
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Gut microbiome profiles in patients with nociceptive pain, neuropathic pain, and pain-free controls: a case-control study. Reg Anesth Pain Med. Published 3 June 2026. doi:10.
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