Gut microbiota and aging O'Toole, Paul W.; Jeffery, Ian B.
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
12/2015, Volume:
350, Issue:
6265
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The potential for the gut microbiota to affect health has a particular relevance for older individuals. This is because the microbiota may modulate aging-related changes in innate immunity, ...sarcopaenia, and cognitive function, all of which are elements of frailty. Both cell culture–dependent and –independent studies show that the gut microbiota of older people differs from that of younger adults. There is no chronological threshold or age at which the composition of the microbiota suddenly alters; rather, changes occur gradually with time. Our detailed analyses have separated the microbiota into groups associated with age, long-term residential care, habitual diet, and degree of retention of a core microbiome. We are beginning to understand how these groups change with aging and how they relate to clinical phenotypes. These data provide a framework for analyzing microbiota-health associations, distinguishing correlation from causation, identifying microbiota interaction with physiological aging processes, and developing microbiota-based health surveillance for older adults.
Centenarians have a decreased susceptibility to ageing-associated illnesses, chronic inflammation and infectious diseases
. Here we show that centenarians have a distinct gut microbiome that is ...enriched in microorganisms that are capable of generating unique secondary bile acids, including various isoforms of lithocholic acid (LCA): iso-, 3-oxo-, allo-, 3-oxoallo- and isoallolithocholic acid. Among these bile acids, the biosynthetic pathway for isoalloLCA had not been described previously. By screening 68 bacterial isolates from the faecal microbiota of a centenarian, we identified Odoribacteraceae strains as effective producers of isoalloLCA both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we found that the enzymes 5α-reductase (5AR) and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSDH) were responsible for the production of isoalloLCA. IsoalloLCA exerted potent antimicrobial effects against Gram-positive (but not Gram-negative) multidrug-resistant pathogens, including Clostridioides difficile and Enterococcus faecium. These findings suggest that the metabolism of specific bile acids may be involved in reducing the risk of infection with pathobionts, thereby potentially contributing to the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis.
•To increase a better understanding of the drivers and barriers affecting older consumers’ intention to shop online.•The major factors driving older adults toward online shopping are performance ...expectation and social influence.•The major barriers that keep older adults away from shopping online include value and tradition.
The use of the Internet by older adults is growing at a substantial rate. They are becoming an increasingly important potential market for electronic commerce. However, previous researchers and practitioners have focused mainly on the youth market and paid less attention to issues related to the online behaviors of older consumers. To bridge the gap, the purpose of this study is to increase a better understanding of the drivers and barriers affecting older consumers’ intention to shop online. To this end, this study is developed by integrating the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and innovation resistance theory. By comparing younger consumers with their older counterparts, in terms of gender the findings indicate that the major factors driving older adults toward online shopping are performance expectation and social influence which is the same with younger. On the other hand, the major barriers include value, risk, and tradition which is different from younger. Consequently, it is notable that older adults show no gender differences in regards to the drivers and barriers.
PATIENT PORTRAITS Marvaha, Seema
Canadian Medical Association journal (CMAJ),
10/2020, Volume:
192, Issue:
40
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Marwaha relates the story of Sam Meister, a 97-year-old widower, retired business man and Holocaust survivor. His parents died at Auschwitz and his brother was also killed during the war. At the end ...of the war, he, his only sister and older brother were left. The love of his life was also sent to Auschwitz. He didn't know she was alive until it was liberated. When she came home after the war, they got married right away. He arrived in Halifax in 1948. They were assigned to settle in Winnipeg, but they got off the train early in the big city--Toronto--and lived there ever since. They raised two children and he built three successful businesses.
Summary Background The oldest-old (those aged ≥80 years) are the most rapidly growing age group globally, and are most in need of health care and assistance. We aimed to assess changes in mortality, ...disability in activities of daily living, and physical and cognitive functioning among oldest-old individuals between 1998 and 2008. Methods We used data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Study. Three pairs of cohorts aged 80–89 years, 90–99 years, and 100–105 years (in total, 19 528 oldest-old participants) were examined; the two cohorts in each pair were born 10 years apart, with the same age at the time of the assessment in the 1998 and 2008 surveys. Four health outcomes were investigated: annual death rate, Activities of Daily Living (ADL), physical performance in three tests and cognitive function measured by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). We used different tests and multivariate regression analyses to examine the cohort differences. Findings Controlling for various confounding factors, we noted that annual mortality among oldest-old individuals was substantially reduced between 0·2% and 1·3% in 1998–2008 compared with individuals of the same age born 10 years previously, and that disability according to activities of daily living had significantly reduced annually between 0·8% and 2·8%. However, cognitive impairment in the later cohorts increased annually between 0·7% and 2·2% and objective physical performance capacity (standing up from a chair, picking up a book from the floor, and turning around 360°) decreased anually between 0·4% and 3·8%. We also noted that female mortality was substantially lower than male mortality among the oldest-old, but that women's functional capacities in activities of daily living, cognition, and physical performance were worse than their male counterparts. Interpretation Advances in medications, lifestyle, and socioeconomics might compress activities of daily living disability, that is, benefits of success, but lifespan extension might expand disability of physical and cognitive functioning as more frail, elderly individuals survive with health problems, that is, costs of success. Funding National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Institute on Aging/National Institutes of Health, United Nations Funds for Population Activities.
It is mandatory to manage musculoskeletal disorders in the elderly to prevent their becoming bed-ridden or requiring long-term care. However, the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders such as ...osteoporosis and sarcopenia in otherwise healthy people over 85 years old is not completely known. Here we enrolled 1026 healthy subjects between 85 and 89 years old and evaluated them for the presence of osteoporosis, sarcopenia and fragility fracture(s), and how those conditions were related. We also evaluated biomarkers such as serum levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) and vitamin D status. The prevalence of osteoporosis, sarcopenia or fragility fracture(s) in these subjects was 22.4, 10.2 or 15.0 %, respectively. Serum IGF1 and 25(OH)D were significantly and negatively correlated with osteoporosis or sarcopenia. Osteoporosis and either sarcopenia or fragility fracture(s) were significantly related and shown to be risk factors for each other, even after adjustment for gender and BMI, while sarcopenia and fragility fracture(s) were not associated. Our data may provide a health platform for the very elderly and suggest strategies to prevent musculoskeletal disorders in this population.
•Osteoporosis and sarcopenia are associated in very old elderly people.•Osteoporosis and fragility fracture(s) are associated in very old elderly people.•Reduced IGF1 levels is a risk for osteoporosis in very old elderly people.•Reduced IGF1 levels is a risk for sarcopenia in very old elderly people.
AbstractObjectiveTo examine the associations of blood pressure with all cause mortality and cause specific mortality at three years among oldest old people in China.DesignCommunity based, ...longitudinal prospective study.Setting2011 and 2014 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, conducted in 22 Chinese provinces.Participants4658 oldest old individuals (mean age 92.1 years).Main outcome measuresAll cause mortality and cause specific mortality assessed at three year follow-up.Results1997 deaths were recorded at three year follow-up. U shaped associations of mortality with systolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, and pulse pressure were identified; values of 143.5 mm Hg, 101 mm Hg, and 66 mm Hg conferred the minimum mortality risk, respectively. After adjustment for covariates, the U shaped association remained only for systolic blood pressure (minimum mortality risk at 129 mm Hg). Compared with a systolic blood pressure value of 129 mm Hg, risk of all cause mortality decreased for values lower than 107 mm Hg (from 1.47 (95% confidence interval 1.01 to 2.17) to 1.08 (1.01 to 1.17)), and increased for values greater than 154 mm Hg (from 1.08 (1.01 to 1.17) to 1.27 (1.02 to 1.58)). In the cause specific analysis, compared with a middle range of systolic blood pressure (107-154 mm Hg), higher values (>154 mm Hg) were associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 1.51 (95% confidence interval 1.12 to 2.02)); lower values (<107 mm Hg) were associated with a higher risk of non-cardiovascular mortality (1.58 (1.26 to 1.98)). The U shaped associations remained in sensitivity and subgroup analyses.ConclusionsThis study indicates a U shaped association between systolic blood pressure and all cause mortality at three years among oldest old people in China. This association could be explained by the finding that higher systolic blood pressure predicted a higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and that lower systolic blood pressure predicted a higher risk of death from non-cardiovascular causes. These results emphasise the importance of revisiting blood pressure management or establishing specific guidelines for management among oldest old individuals.
PDF
