On the fecal dysbiosis index, what does a positive value indicate?

• A. Dysbiosis
• B. Eubiosis
• C. No change
• D. Improved gut health

Answer: (B)

The fecal dysbiosis index is a single numeric score that summarizes the balance of the gut microbiota. A positive value indicates eubiosis, meaning the microbial community in the feces more closely resembles a healthy, balanced gut. This reflects a composition with more of the beneficial, health-associated bacteria and/or fewer of the dysbiosis-associated or potentially harmful groups, compared with a healthy reference. In practice, a positive score suggests there is no dysbiosis and the gut environment is, microbiologically speaking, in a healthier state. Conversely, a negative value would point toward dysbiosis, and values near zero are often interpreted as neutral or indeterminate based on the assay’s reference range.