Gastrointestinal Microbiota and Their Contribution to Healthy Aging

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Maria Mello ◽  
Giulia Paroni ◽  
Julia Daragjati ◽  
Alberto Pilotto
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Microbiota Composition ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Gastrointestinal Microbiota ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Older Subjects

Studies on populations at different ages have shown that after birth, the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota composition keeps evolving, and this seems to occur especially in old age. Significant changes in GI microbiota composition in older subjects have been reported in relation to diet, drug use and the settings where the older subjects are living, that is, in community nursing homes or in a hospital. Moreover, changes in microbiota composition in the old age have been related to immunosenescence and inflammatory processes that are pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the pathways of frailty. Frailty is an age-related condition of increased vulnerability to stresses due to the impairment in multiple inter-related physiologic systems that are associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes, such as falls, delirium, institutionalization, hospitalization and death. Preliminary data suggest that changes in microbiota composition may contribute to the variations in the biological, clinical, functional and psycho-social domains that occur in the frail older subjects. Multidimensional evaluation tools based on a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) have demonstrated to be useful in identifying and measuring the severity of frailty in older subjects. Thus, a CGA approach should be used more widely in clinical practice to evaluate the multidimensional effects potentially related to GI microbiota composition of the older subjects. Probiotics have been shown to be effective in restoring the microbiota changes of older subjects, promoting different aspects of health in elderly people as improving immune function and reducing inflammation. Whether modulation of GI microbiota composition, with multi-targeted interventions, could have an effect on the prevention of frailty remains to be further investigated in the perspective of improving the health status of frail ‘high risk' older individuals.

scholarly journals DOES THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AGE AND MAJOR ILLNESS VARY BY NATIONAL HEALTHCARE QUALITY?

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S140-S140
Author(s):  
Matthew A Andersson ◽  
Lindsay R Wilkinson ◽  
Markus H Schafer
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Healthcare Quality ◽  
Attributable Mortality ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
National Healthcare ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Major Illness

Abstract Though the risk of chronic disease and disability accelerates once adults are in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, researchers have long suspected that economic, social, and institutional variation — even among high-income Western nations — may powerfully influence the likelihood that people remain healthy at advanced ages. This study builds on comparative research into global aging, by offering a multiple-indicator test of whether national healthcare quality modifies the association between age and major illness. Recent individual-level data on morbidity among respondents aged 50 or older (16 countries; 2014 European Social Survey) are merged with nation-level healthcare indicators. Healthcare quality is assessed using a subjective, evaluation-based approach (based on the 2011 International Social Survey Programme) and an objective, attributable-mortality approach (2010 Healthcare Access and Quality, based on the Global Burden of Disease Study). Lagged nation-level economic and health indicators are controlled to help isolate healthcare effects. Multilevel logistic and linear regression models of any major health condition and morbidity reveal that while older individuals showed approximately a 10% reduction in probability of major illness when residing in countries with higher healthcare quality, associations between age and morbidity indices combining number and severity of illness showed greater modification by healthcare quality, with reductions around 18%. Results across subjective and objective approaches to healthcare quality are strikingly consistent. Taken together, results are suggestive of healthcare’s protective role in reducing age-related illness and disability. Future research should illuminate pathways by which healthcare quality may lead to differences in healthy aging among advanced nations.

scholarly journals VACCINATION TO PROMOTE HEALTH THROUGHOUT LIFE AS A HEALTHY AGING STRATEGY

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S211-S211
Author(s):  
Leonard Friedland
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Target Antigen ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Demographic Shift ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Important Progress

Abstract This symposium addresses the role of vaccination to promote healthy aging, the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age. Life-span immunization of adults across all age categories can help to reduce morbidity and mortality. Healthy aging is critical for our global society to counter the surge in healthcare costs that is coming as a result of the demographic shift to older age. Immune system function and response to vaccination declines with advancing age. Generating effective immune responses against new infectious disease targets can be difficult in older individuals. Important progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms underlying immunosenescence, the age-related decline of the immune response to infections and vaccinations. Innovative research and the development of new technologies, such as adjuvants, substances that can enhance and shape the immune response to the target antigen(s), has facilitated the development of vaccines specially tailored for adults. This evidence-based approach to the development of innovative vaccines addressing immunosenescence is an important clinically relevant healthy aging strategy to promote health throughout life.

scholarly journals Mental wellbeing in the German old age population largely unaltered during COVID-19 lockdown: results of a representative survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Röhr ◽  
Ulrich Reininghaus ◽  
Steffi G. Riedel-Heller
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Brief Symptom Inventory ◽  
Personal Life ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Life Situation ◽  
Increased Risk

Abstract Background Older individuals are at increased risk of a severe and lethal course of COVID-19. They have typically been advised to practice particularly restrictive social distancing (‘cocooning’), which has sparked much debate on the consequences for their mental wellbeing. We aimed to provide evidence by conducting a representative survey among the German old population during COVID-19 lockdown. Methods A computer-assisted standardized telephone interview was conducted in a randomly selected and representative sample of the German old age population (n = 1005; age ≥ 65 years) during the first lockdown in April 2020. Assessments included sociodemographic factors, aspects of the personal life situation during lockdown, attitudes towards COVID-19, and standardized screening measures on depression, anxiety, somatization, overall psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory/BSI-18) and loneliness (UCLA 3-item loneliness scale). Sampling-weighted descriptive statistics and multiple multivariable regression analyses were conducted. Results Participants were M = 75.5 (SD = 7.1) years old; 56.3% were women. At data collection, COVID-19 lockdown had been in force for M = 28.0 (SD = 4.8) days. Overall, older individuals were worried about COVID-19, but supportive of the lockdown. Mean BSI-18 scores were 1.4 for depression, 1.6 for anxiety and 2.2 for somatization as well as 5.1 for global psychological distress. These figures did not indicate worse mental wellbeing, given normative values established by studies before the pandemic (2.0, 1.6, 2.4, 6.0, respectively). The prevalence of loneliness was 13.1%, which also fell within a range of estimates reported by studies before the pandemic. There were only few significant associations of aspects of the personal life situation during lockdown and attitudes towards COVID-19 with mental wellbeing. Resilience explained a large amount of variance. Conclusions In the short-term, the mental wellbeing of the German old age population was largely unaltered during COVID-19 lockdown, suggesting resilience against the challenging pandemic situation. Our results refute common ageist stereotypes of “the weak and vulnerable older adults” that were present during the pandemic. Long-term observations are needed to provide robust evidence.

scholarly journals Efficient selective screening for heart failure in elderly men and women from the community: A diagnostic individual participant data meta-analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogier F Kievit ◽  
Aisha Gohar ◽  
Arno W Hoes ◽  
Michiel L Bots ◽  
Evelien ES van Riet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Cross Validation ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Clinical Model ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
C Statistic ◽  
Increased Risk

Background Prevalence of undetected heart failure in older individuals is high in the community, with patients being at increased risk of morbidity and mortality due to the chronic and progressive nature of this complex syndrome. An essential, yet currently unavailable, strategy to pre-select candidates eligible for echocardiography to confirm or exclude heart failure would identify patients earlier, enable targeted interventions and prevent disease progression. The aim of this study was therefore to develop and validate such a model that can be implemented clinically. Methods and results Individual patient data from four primary care screening studies were analysed. From 1941 participants >60 years old, 462 were diagnosed with heart failure, according to criteria of the European Society of Cardiology heart failure guidelines. Prediction models were developed in each cohort followed by cross-validation, omitting each of the four cohorts in turn. The model consisted of five independent predictors; age, history of ischaemic heart disease, exercise-related shortness of breath, body mass index and a laterally displaced/broadened apex beat, with no significant interaction with sex. The c-statistic ranged from 0.70 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.64–0.76) to 0.82 (95% CI 0.78–0.87) at cross-validation and the calibration was reasonable with Observed/Expected ratios ranging from 0.86 to 1.15. The clinical model improved with the addition of N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide with the c-statistic increasing from 0.76 (95% CI 0.70–0.81) to 0.89 (95% CI 0.86–0.92) at cross-validation. Conclusion Easily obtainable patient characteristics can select older men and women from the community who are candidates for echocardiography to confirm or refute heart failure.

Role of estrogen in the management of COVID – 19 in females

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-70
Author(s):  
Keerthi Chadam Venkatesulu ◽  
Shaik Habeeb Jan ◽  
Harika Sree Gaddam
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Therapeutic Benefits ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Disease Condition ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
The Difference

With the increase, the spread of COVID-19 its effect can be seen on health care systems seek innovative treatment ways as the need of the hour. The suspected leading cause of COVID-19 is due to the response to inflammations and the cytokine storm, which majorly damages the lung tissue. The difference in response to the vaccine can be seen due to different sex. Moreover, age-related decrease in sex steroid hormones like Estrogen as well as testosterone can promote pro-inflammatory raise in older individuals which in turn increases the risk of COVID-19 related adverse outcomes. Such sex hormones have the capacity of mitigating inflammatory response and can also provide promising therapeutic benefits for patients suffering from COVID-19. Moreover, over above the effects of on any ERS, these drugs showed useful ancillary properties. Most showed to highlight broader roles in mitigating viral replication by the ER-independent mechanisms as mentioned. Data simplifies ER modulation an apt pharmacological approach for restricting storm and thus prevents the inflammation due to COVID-19. Mainly the application of or tissue-selective estrogen complex can provide a pharmacological response. Such treatment options can be fruitful for both sexes in the early phase of such disease condition to prevent further progression of the disease to severe forms.

Frailty, sarcopenia, and falls in cardiovascular disease

ESC CardioMed ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 2950-2954
Author(s):  
Antonio Cherubini ◽  
Massimiliano Fedecostante
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Drug Effects ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Age Related

Frailty reflects a state of high vulnerability to stressors, even at low intensity, putting frail older adults at high risk of adverse outcomes. Sarcopenia (i.e. skeletal muscle decline) explains many of the clinical manifestations of the frailty syndrome and is the key component of physical frailty. Many frailty assessment tools are built around the concept of sarcopenia. Frailty is not only a consequence of the ageing process, but cardiovascular disease can contribute to its genesis, also sharing common pathogenetic pathways. Falls are very common in older individuals and are the best example of the interplay between age-related conditions and diseases. Falls, as well as frailty and sarcopenia, are most often multifactorial in nature. Cardiovascular disorders are among the risk factors that have been identified to cause falls in older adults; in particular, unexplained and recurrent falls. Orthostatic hypotension, carotid sinus syndrome, and adverse drug effects are the most important cardiovascular disease-related factors that have been found to be associated with falls in older people. Implementing the comprehensive geriatric assessment, a multidomain and multidisciplinary evaluation and management approach, represents the best strategy to properly manage older patients with cardiovascular disease.

scholarly journals Effect of successful aging on mortality in older individuals: The PALA study

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Luiza Camozzato ◽  
Claudia Godinho ◽  
Márcia Lorena Fagundes Chaves
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Normal Aging ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT The definition of successful aging and identification of predictors have been extensively reviewed, less attention however, has been given to the role of this condition on mortality. Objective: To evaluate the effect of aging status (normal or successful) on mortality in a South Brazilian population-based cohort, adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical variables, and to report the mortality rate and causes of death in this population. Methods: The baseline sample comprised 345 community-dwelling, independent and healthy Southern Brazilian older individuals who were followed for 12 years. Clinical, socio-demographic, functional and cognitive variables were assessed at baseline and during the follow-up. At baseline, 214 participants fulfilled criteria for successful aging, and 131 for normal aging. The main outcome was death. Results: The Cox regression model showed an increased risk for mortality in subjects with normal aging (HR=1.9; p=0.003) adjusted by age (HR=1.1; p<0.001) and by sex (HR=1.9; p=0.002). The overall mortality rate was 41% and the rate was significantly lower among successful than normal agers (p=0.001). The main causes of death were cardiovascular disease and cancer. Conclusion: Our main finding was an increased risk of mortality among normal in comparison with successful aging subjects, emphasizing the impact of the heterogeneity of the healthy aging process on mortality.

scholarly journals Odor identification as a biomarker of preclinical AD in older adults at risk

Neurology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Elyse Lafaille-Magnan ◽  
Judes Poirier ◽  
Pierre Etienne ◽  
Jennifer Tremblay-Mercier ◽  
Joanne Frenette ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Odor Identification ◽  
University Of Pennsylvania ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Neuropsychological Status ◽  
Preclinical Ad ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
T Tau

Objective:To assess odor identification (OI) as an indicator of presymptomatic Alzheimer disease (AD) pathogenesis in cognitively normal aging individuals at increased risk of AD dementia.Methods:In 274 members of the PREVENT-AD cohort of healthy aging persons with a parental or multiple-sibling history of AD dementia, we assessed the cross-sectional association of OI with potential indicators of presymptomatic AD. Some 101 participants donated CSF, thus enabling assessment of AD pathology with the biomarkers total tau (t-tau), phospho-tau (P181-tau), and their ratios with β-amyloid (Aβ1-42). Adjusted analyses considered age, cognition, APOE ε4 status, education, and sex as covariates. We measured OI using the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test and cognitive performance using the Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status. Standard kits provided assays of the AD biomarkers. Analyses used robust-fit linear regression models.Results:Reduced OI was associated with lower cognitive score and older age, as well as increased ratios of CSF t-tau and P181-tau to Aβ1-42 (all p < 0.02). However, the observed associations of OI with age and cognition were unapparent in adjusted models that restricted observations to CSF donors and included AD biomarkers. OI showed little association with CSF Aβ1-42 alone except in APOE ε4 carriers having lowest-quartile Aβ1-42 levels.Conclusions:These findings from healthy high-risk older individuals suggest that OI reflects degree of preclinical AD pathology, while its relationships with age and cognition result from the association of these latter variables with such pathology. Diminished OI may be a practical and affordable biomarker of AD pathology.

How Experts Attain and Maintain Superior Performance: Implications for the Enhancement of Skilled Performance in Older Individuals

2000 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 366-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Anders Ericsson
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Deliberate Practice ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Expert Performance ◽  
Skilled Performance ◽  
Theories Of Aging ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Physiological Adaptations

Traditional theories of aging claim that basic processing speed and memory capacities show inevitable decline with increasing age. Recent research, however, has shown that older experts in some domains are able to maintain their superior performance into old age. but even they display the typical age-related decline in performance on psychometric tests of fluid intelligence. The study of expert performance shows that adults retain the capacity to acquire and maintain performance with the appropriate type of training and practice, even speeded actions and many physiological adaptations. In fact, experts’ performance keeps improving for several decades into adulthood and typically reaches its peak between 30 and 50 years of age. The experts can then maintain their attained performance level into old age by regular deliberate practice. Much of the observed decline in older adults’ performance can be attributed to age-related reductions in engagement in domain-related activities—in particular, regular deliberate practice.

scholarly journals Lower human defensin 5 in elderly people compared to middle-aged is associated with differences in the intestinal microbiota composition: the DOSANCO Health Study

GeroScience ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Shimizu ◽  
Kiminori Nakamura ◽  
Mani Kikuchi ◽  
Shigekazu Ukawa ◽  
Koshi Nakamura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Intestinal Microbiota ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Paneth Cell ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Microbiota Composition ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Human Defensin 5

AbstractRecently, aging is considered a risk factor for various diseases. Although changes in the intestinal microbiota along with aging are thought to associate with the increased disease risk, mechanisms that cause age-related transition of the intestinal microbiota remain unknown. This study aims to clarify relationships between the amount of human defensin 5 (HD5), a Paneth cell α-defensin, which is known to regulate the intestinal microbiota, and age-related differences of the intestinal microbiota composition. Fecal samples from 196 healthy Japanese (35 to 81 years old) were collected and measured HD5 concentration. HD5 concentration in the elderly group (age > 70 years old) was significantly lower than the middle-aged group (age ≤ 70 years old). Furthermore, individual age was negatively correlated with HD5 concentration (r =  − 0.307, p < 0.001). In β-diversity, the intestinal microbiota of the elderly showed a significantly different composition compared to the middle-aged. At the genus level, relative abundance of Collinsella, Alistipes, Peptococcaceae; unassigned, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Weissella, Christensenellaceae R-7 group, Megasphaera, and [Eubacterium] eligens group was significantly higher, and Lachnospiraceae; unassigned, Blautia, Anaerostipes, Fusicatenibacter, Dorea, and Faecalibacterium was significantly lower in the elderly compared to the middle-aged. In addition, HD5 concentration was negatively correlated with Alistipes, Peptococcaceae; unassigned, and Christensenellaceae R-7 group and positively correlated with Lachnospiraceae; unassigned and Dorea. These results provide novel insights into the immunosenescence of enteric innate immunity, indicating low HD5 is suggested to contribute to the age-related differences in the intestinal microbiota and may relate to increased risk of diseases in elderly people.

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