Growing old together: What we know about the influence of diet and exercise on the aging host's gut microbiome

Abstract

The immune system is critical in defending against infection from pathogenic microorganisms. Individuals with weakened immune systems, such as the elderly, are more susceptible to infections and developing autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The gut microbiome contains a plethora of bacteria and other microorganisms, which collectively plays a significant role in immune function and homeostasis. Gut microbiota are considered to be highly influential on host health and immune function. Therefore, dysbiosis of the microbiota could be a major contributor to the elevated incidence of multiple age-related pathologies. While there seems to be a general consensus that the composition of gut microbiota changes with age, very little is known about how diet and exercise might influence the aging microbiome. Here, we examine the current state of the literature regarding alterations to the gut microbiome as hosts age, drawing particular attention to the knowledge gaps in addressing how diet and exercise influence the aging microbiome. Further, we will demonstrate the need for more controlled studies to investigate the roles that diet and exercise play driving the composition, diversity, and function of the microbiome in an aging population.

Postmortem skin microbiome signatures associated with human cadavers within the first 12 h at the morgue

“…Age is another factor affecting the microbiome during, and after death. Aging is considered to have an impact on the intestinal microbiome ( Xu et al, 2019 ; Brooks et al, 2023 ), the diversity decreasing with age ( Leite et al, 2021 ), while, Proteobacteria being observed in higher abundances in older living subjects. During the current experiment, Firmicutes was more abundant in cases involving older adults, however, these observations are made postmortem.…”

Application of Compositional Data Analysis to Study the Relationship between Bacterial Diversity in Human Faeces and Sex, Age, and Weight

“…Previous research has indicated that various factors, such as diet, exercise, sex, age, or weight, can influence the diversity and richness of gut bacteria in humans [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Specifically, Cuesta-Zuluaga et al [ 28 ] investigated the association of age, sex, and gut bacterial alpha diversity in three large cohorts of adults.…”

The Role of the Gut Microbiome in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: The Middle East Perspective

“…Infants’ microbiota are predominantly made up of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria , which are important for immunological development and nutrition metabolism [ 22 ]. Microbial diversity rises as children grow and then levels off by early adulthood [ 23 ], though it declines again with further age [ 24 ]. Metabolic activity, and vulnerability to disease, have been linked to these changes [ 24 ].…”

“…Microbial diversity rises as children grow and then levels off by early adulthood [ 23 ], though it declines again with further age [ 24 ]. Metabolic activity, and vulnerability to disease, have been linked to these changes [ 24 ].…”