Patient knowledge of gut microbiota and acceptability of fecal microbiota transplantation in various diseases.

BACKGROUND: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is now evaluated in various diseases. However, large-scale population treatment may encounter feasibility issues in terms of acceptance. We aim to evaluate patient knowledge of gut microbiota and the acceptability of FMT in various diseases. METHODS: Patients of Carenity's French online community were invited by email to participate in a questionnaire. The following parameters were assessed: patient's principal illness and duration, demographic data, therapeutics, dietary habits, knowledge of gut microbiota, probiotics and FMT, and its acceptability. KEY RESULTS: In total, 877 patients participated in the online questionnaire: 156 with inflammatory bowel disease (17.8%), 127 with rheumatoid arthritis (14.5%), 222 with ankylosing spondylitis (25.3%), 52 with lupus (5.9%), 64 with psoriasis (7.3%), 61 with obesity (7%), and 195 with type 2 diabetes (22.2%). Characteristics of participating patients were similar to those of the entire cohort (n = 23084). Overall, 47.1% (n = 413/877) of patients knew what the microbiota is with no difference among diseases. Knowledge was reported to be developed by patients themselves (203/413; 49.2%) without involving a healthcare professional. If proposed by a healthcare professional, 37.2% (326/877) reported being interested or very interested in undergoing FMT. Factors associated with good acceptability of FMT were the male sex (OR: 1.63, CI95% [1.14 to 2.32]), previous knowledge of FMT (OR: 4.16, CI95% [2.92 to 5.96]), and previous knowledge of gut microbiota (OR: 1.54, CI95% [1.05 to 2.24]). CONCLUSION AND INFERENCES: Knowledge of gut microbiota is still limited in patients' communities and mainly developed by patients themselves, impacting FMT acceptability.