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Comparison of gut microbiota profiles between patients suffering from elderly frailty syndrome and non-frail elderly individuals

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Abstract

Background

Frailty syndrome is a state of increased vulnerability to stressors, marked by lowered physical strength and increased dependence on others. The well-established changes in gut microbiota associated with old age suggest a probable relationship between gut microbiota and frailty.

Methods and results

This study was aimed at finding the relationship between gut microbiota and frailty syndrome, by comparing the sociodemographic data and the gut microbiota profiles of 23 non-frail and 14 frail elderly individuals. We used the quantitative polymerase chain reaction method (qPCR) to determine the bacterial loads of Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroidetes, Prevotella, and Escherichia coli in stool samples from test subjects. We discovered a significant increase in the bacterial load of Prevotella in frail elderly individuals aged 70 or above. Other bacterial loads and ratios were not significantly different between the two groups.

Conclusions

More comprehensive studies with larger sample sizes and encompassing a wider range of inflammation-related bacteria need to be performed to discover the existence and exact nature of these relations.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

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Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Firoozabadi Clinical and Research Development Unit, Iran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran

    Hosna Mirfakhraee

  2. School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, VA, USA

    Milad Sabaei, Fatemeh Faraji, Soheil Rahmani Fard & Sara Minaeian

  3. Department of Geriatric Medicine, School of Medicine, Firoozabadi Clinical and Research Development Unit, Iran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran

    Maryam Niksolat

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Firoozabadi Clinical and Research Development Unit, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Samaneh Saghafian Larijani

  5. Iranian Research Center on Ageing, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Zhale Zandieh

  6. Antimicrobial Resistance Research Center, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Hazrat-e Rasool General Hospital, Floor 3, Building no. 3, Niyayesh St, Sattar Khan St, Tehran, 1445613131, Iran

    Sara Minaeian

Authors
  1. Hosna Mirfakhraee
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Contributions

Hosna Mirfakhraee, Maryam Niksolat and Sara Minaeian were responsible for conceptualization and development of the methodology. Hosna Mirfakhraee, Fatemeh Faraji and Samaneh Saghafian Larijani contributed to the laboratory work. Milad Sabaei, Soheil Rahmani Fard and Zhale Zandieh were responsible for data collection and literature search. Milad Sabaei and Hosna Mirfakhraee prepared the original draft of the manuscript. Soheil Rahmani Fard and Milad Sabaei were responsible for data analysis and visualization. Sara Minaeian, Fatemeh Faraji and Maryam Niksolat reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sara Minaeian.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was reviewed and approved by scientific advisory and ethical committees of Iran University of medical sciences (Registration number: IR.IUMS.REC.1398.1380) and all patients were given complete explanation about the study procedures and protocol before signing written informed consent forms.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Mirfakhraee, H., Sabaei, M., Niksolat, M. et al. Comparison of gut microbiota profiles between patients suffering from elderly frailty syndrome and non-frail elderly individuals. Mol Biol Rep 51, 321 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-024-09271-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-024-09271-5

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