The intestinal microbiome is an essential part of the body, which, according to researchers, also allows people to age healthily. However, its significance for the aging process is still unclear. Scientists have recently discovered different signatures in theIntestinal flora identified, which are associated with either healthy or unhealthy aging processes. This, in turn, could predict survival in a population of older people.
How can people age healthily through intestinal bacteria?
The research team analyzed phenotypic and clinical data from over 9,000 people between the ages of 18 and 101 in three independent cohorts. The results showed that gut bacteria became more unique and different from others as people aged from mid to late adulthood. This uniqueness may predict patients' survival in the final decades of life, the study authors said. This suggests that these changes in the microbiome may not just be a diagnosis of healthy aging. They also contribute directly to health as people age. For example, indoles are known to reduce inflammation in the intestines. Chronic disease is thought to be a major driver of the progression of age-related morbidity. This analysis highlights the fact that the adult gut microbiome continues to evolve with advanced age in healthy individuals, but not in unhealthy ones.
Compositions in the microbiome that are associated with health in early adulthood may not be consistent with it in late adulthood. This is exciting work that the authors of this study believe will have important clinical implications for monitoring and modifying the health of the gut microbiome throughout a person's life. Previous results in microbiome aging research appear to be inconsistent.This study, the first to provide a detailed analysis of health and survival, can address these inconsistencies. This shows a decline in core microbes and a concomitant increase in uniqueness in healthier individuals. In particular, the researchers show aging trajectories of core microbe maintenance in less healthy individuals.
