Consensus standards aim to improve clinical microbiome research

Clinical microbiome research increasingly aims to translate associations into evidence for healthcare and policy, but inconsistent metadata and study methods limit comparisons and reproducibility. This article summarizes a Consensus Statement developed within the Horizon Europe Human Microbiome Action Consortium. A two-round Delphi survey included 72 participants in round one and 61 experts in round two, producing 15 recommendations focused mainly on the gut microbiome and diseases associated or interacting with the gastrointestinal tract.

The recommendations call for clinical microbiome studies to include microbiome-related endpoints alongside clinical endpoints. They also identify minimum lifestyle and medical information as essential for interpreting study results. The authors place this work alongside prior initiatives addressing causality, preclinical models, technical reporting, human microbiome reporting, and microbiome testing in clinical practice.

The article argues that harmonized standards and stronger evidence are prerequisites for reliable clinical translation and potential public-health or policy applications. It does not present new patient-level findings or establish that microbiome-based approaches are ready for routine clinical use. The recommendations are intended to improve the comparability and quality of future research, not to support specific changes in diagnosis or treatment.