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
Aims and objectives
Ageing of the global population has become a public health concern,
considering the impact of age-related diseases in terms of healthcare and social costs [1].
One of the health problems that is emerging is frailty,
a clinical syndrome in which three or more of the following criteria are present: unintentional weight loss (10 lbs in past year),
self-reported exhaustion,
weakness (grip strength),
slow walking speed,
and low physical activity [2].
Ageing is a biological process associated with the development of low-grade chronic inflammation and deterioration of metabolic functions,
which are a consequence of several systemic alterations,
included age-related body composition (BC) changes [3,4].
A generalized decrease in lean mass (LM) and an increase in fat mass (FM) is frequently associated with ageing [4,5].
The different impact on health of fat distribution has been supported by several investigations,
with the abdominal distribution of FM associated with a higher cardiometabolic risk profile.
The main burden of such risk is attributed to visceral adipose tissue (VAT),
while subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) is thought to play a controversial role [6,7].
A central role in the development of a low-grade chronic inflammatory state is also played by gut microbiota composition,
as they can release inflammatory products and contribute to the circadian rhythms and crosstalk with other organs and systems [8].
Gut microbiota composition has been shown to have a role in shaping individuals’ BC [9].
Both adipose tissues stored in the abdominal region,
including SAT and VAT depots,
and dysbiosis in the gut have been linked to chronic inflammation and metabolic dysfunctions: the aim of the present work is to evaluate and outline the associations between gut microbiota and body composition to obtain a risk model linked to frailty status.