Keywords:
Musculoskeletal soft tissue, Absorptiometry / Bone densitometry, Experimental investigations, Laboratory tests, Statistics, Geriatrics, Inflammation
Authors:
A. Bazzocchi, C. Gasperini, A. Santoro, T. Tavella, S. Rampelli, C. Fabbri, G. Guidarelli, D. Mercatelli, E. Giampieri; Bologna/IT
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-3317
Conclusion
The present study is an attempt to identify a model of body composition and gut microbiota that could be useful to define better individual at higher risk for frailty syndrome and other age-related diseases.
In our cohort,
3 distinct groups were identified based on gut microbiota composition,
independently of frailty status or sex.
Among these groups,
a significant association was found between group B,
i.e.
the group showing significantly lower levels of VAT,
and a higher relative abundance of members of the Christensenellaceae family.
No significant differences were identified for SAT.
Christensenellaceae family was previously shown to be highly prevalent in the gut microbiota of healthy centenarians,
possibly representing a signature of the ecosystem of extremely long-lived people [12].
This family has been also associated with a lean phenotype [13].
Many studies report that visceral adipose tissue (VAT) conveys the highest health risks among the currently measurable adipose tissue compartments in humans,
mainly related to cardiometabolic risk [6,7,14,15] and the gut microbiota is involved in the development of cardiovascular disease,
with the host-microbe interaction regulating immune and metabolic pathways [16].
Consistently with these assumptions,
the Christensenellaceae family of microbiota is relatively more represented in individuals with lower VAT levels,
suggesting the existence of a positive association between a specific gut microbiota composition and a healthier profile of BC.
Further studies are required to obtain an integrated BC and gut microbiota phenotype to identify individuals at a higher risk for cardiometabolic diseases.