An international group of researchers, including the team of Prof. Jeroen Raes (VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology), has shown that lifestyle can have long-term effects on the composition of the gut microbiome.
Most human gut microbiome studies are short-lived. For example, we know that changes in the composition of the microbiome through the diet last about two days. Or researchers take a snapshot of a large group of people to see how differences in the environment and lifestyle relate to differences in the microbiome.
This makes it difficult to say anything about the possible long-term effects of different life events and choices. To find out more, prof. Jeroen Raes (VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology) the gut microbiome of the participants in the Bruneck study cohort. The Brunico study also collected clinical, demographic, lifestyle and nutritional data from 304 Italian men and women over the age of 26.
Together with colleagues from the Medical University of Innsbruck (Austria) and the Brunico Hospital (Italy), Raes’ team analyzed how life events and life choices affect the long-term microbiome.
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Researchers found that several historical lifestyle factors – drug history, physical activity, past eating habits, and blood levels – affect the composition of the current gut microbiome.
Changes in someone drug history and hemoglobin levels over time, for example, have been linked to the composition of the current microbiome. Long-term treatment with beta-blockers was associated with having an inflammatory enterotype (a species-specific composition of the microbiome). Coprococcoa bacterium previously linked to iron deficiency, has also been associated with hemoglobin levelsa component of the blood that also needs iron. Exercise throughout life it has had positive effects on the host and the microbiome, increasing the abundance of beneficial bacteria that produce butyrate. This molecule nourishes the cells of the intestinal wall and reduces inflammation.
Prof. dr. Jeroen Raes summarizes it as follows: “This work suggests that lifestyle choices affect not only the daily gut microbiome, but also future gut flora.”
Most human gut microbiome studies are short-lived. For example, we know that changes in the composition of the microbiome through the diet last about two days. Or researchers take a snapshot of a large group of people to see how differences in the environment and lifestyle relate to differences in the microbiome, making it difficult to say anything about the possible long-term effects of different life events and choices. . To find out more, prof. Jeroen Raes (VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology) the gut microbiome of the participants in the Bruneck study cohort. The Brunico study also collected clinical, demographic, lifestyle and nutritional data from 304 Italian men and women over the age of 26. Together with colleagues from the Medical University of Innsbruck (Austria) and the Brunico Hospital (Italy), Raes’ team analyzed how life events and life choices affect the long-term microbiome. Researchers found that several historical lifestyle factors – drug history, physical activity, past eating habits, and blood levels – affect the composition of the current gut microbiome. For example, changes in a person’s drug history and hemoglobin levels over time have been linked to the composition of the current microbiome. Long-term treatment with beta-blockers was associated with having an inflammatory enterotype (a species-specific composition of the microbiome). Coprococcus, a bacterium previously linked to iron deficiency, was also linked to levels of hemoglobin, a component of the blood that also needs iron. Exercise throughout life has had positive effects on the host and the microbiome, increasing the abundance of beneficial butyrate-producing bacteria. This molecule nourishes the cells of the intestinal wall and reduces inflammation. Prof. dr. Jeroen Raes summarizes it as follows: “This work suggests that lifestyle choices affect not only the daily gut microbiome, but also future gut flora.”
