Macrobiota and immune system ageing

There is a difference between intestinal flora composition of elderly in the community, compared with the elderly in long term care. In this case, we will have four groups of subjects, to compare. We have the first group case, elderly living in a local community, in their homes, second group, elderly attending out-patient day hospitals, third group, elderly in a short term hospital care, and the last group, long term residential care elderly.

There are clear differences between them, with residential care group having a higher proportion of Bacteriodetes,and the community group having a higher proportion of Firmicutes. We have Parabacteriodes, Eubacteria and Copprobacillus associated with elderly in residential care. Elderly living in the community had a more diverse microbiota, more abundant in bacteria like Copprococcus and Roseburia.

In conclusion, the elderly benefit more from staying in their own homes, possibly because of their exposure to a bigger variety of foods and environmental factors. The knowledge gained from these researches can be used to stimulate the missing healthy bacteria and to improve microbiota diversity and the health of the elderly in residential care.