Key points from article :
Our microbiomes—the trillions of microbes that live on and within us—play central roles in our health and susceptibility to different diseases.
And as we age, our microbiomes change too.
They sampled frail older adults inhabiting skilled nursing facilities as well as community-dwelling older adults.
They found that the greatest microbiome differences between the groups were associated with increased frailty, not chronological age.
Microbiome differences between cohorts were most pronounced in the skin, rather than the gut or mouth.
The relative abundance or presence of a number of bacterial species on the skin significantly correlated with frailty.
“...the microbiome contributes to aging and chronic diseases, in turn allowing us to identify potential interventional targets to improve health across lifespan,” says Associate Professor Julia Oh.
The study was carried out at Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and was published in Nature Aging.
