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(OR07-04-26) Chrononutritional Adherence to Seasonal Rhythms: Divergent Metabolome-Microbiome Plasticity and Cardiometabolic Health

Saturday, July 25, 2026
5:06 PM - 5:18 PM ET
Location: National Harbor 4-5
Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Poster Competition

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Zilin Xiao, Ph.D Candidate

    Ph.D. Candidate
    Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    Shanghai, Shanghai, China (People's Republic)

    Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • GZ

    Geng Zong

    Institute of Nutrition, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (People's Republic)

Disclosure(s):
Zilin Xiao, Ph.D Candidate: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Objectives: To investigate diet-mediated seasonal dynamics in the metabolome and gut microbiome and evaluate whether chrononutritional adherence to seasonal rhythms is associated with cardiometabolic health.

Methods: We analyzed 828 individuals from the Fuqing cohort, a coastal population in southeastern China, with six visits across four years: four quarterly assessments within one year and two annual follow-ups. Repeated measures included 4-day dietary records, comprehensive clinical assessments, gut metagenomics, and untargeted metabolomics via dual-column (Amide and T3) UHPLC-MS. A Seasonal Diet Score (SDS) was derived using elastic net regression to identify key foods distinguishing summer and winter dietary patterns. We defined the Seasonal Dietary Adherence Index (SDAI) to evaluate individual dietary compliance with seasons. Nested mixed-effects models were applied to decompose omic variance into diet-mediated and season-dependent effects. Multivariable-adjusted regressions were used to estimate clinical associations.

Results: Dietary patterns captured by SDS exhibited marked seasonality, primarily driven by vegetable and fruit intakes. Plasma metabolome demonstrated seasonal resilience (returning to baseline after a full seasonal cycle), whereas the microbiome exhibited temporal drift that did not return. Specifically, 84% of metabolites showed significant seasonality, driven predominantly by season-dependent effects (55.8%, enriched in nucleotide metabolism and bile secretion) and diet-mediated effects (28.1%, enriched in plant secondary metabolites and amino acid biosynthesis). Conversely, only 40% of microbial taxa were seasonally responsive (14.8% season-dependent, 19.9% diet-mediated). Clinically, higher SDAI was significantly associated with favorable changes in arterial stiffness (baPWV, std. β = -0.17, 95% CI: [-0.32, -0.03]) and glycolipid metabolism (TG, std. β = -0.08, 95% CI: [-0.15, -0.01]; GLU, std. β = -0.07, 95% CI: [-0.13, -0.01]).

Conclusions: The human metabolome and gut microbiome display divergent seasonal plasticity. Chrononutritional adherence to natural seasons may potentially offer an actionable strategy for long-term cardiometabolic protection.

Funding Sources: National Natural Science Foundation of China