In a new study from the University of Turku, researchers discovered that a large amount of enterobacteria in the gut microbiota is related to long-term mortality risk.
The human microbiota is highly individual and consists of a vast amount of different bacteria and other microorganisms.
Enterobacteria are bacteria from the family Enterobacteriaceae, which are primarily known for their ability to cause intestinal upset.
Enterobacteria are responsible for a variety of human illnesses, including urinary tract infections, wound infections, gastroenteritis, meningitis, septicemia, and pneumonia.
In the study, the team examined the connection between human gut microbiota and health and mortality in the following decades.
The composition of the participants’ gut microbiota was analyzed from stool samples collected in 2002. The researchers had access to follow-up data on the subjects’ mortality until 2017.
The team developed a machine learning algorithm that screened the data for microbial species having a significant association with mortality among the research participants.
The bacteria predicting a shorter lifespan were discovered when the researchers compared health records and billions of DNA strands retrieved from the research participants’ microbiota.
The team says many bacterial strains that are known to be harmful were among the enterobacteria predicting mortality, and people’s lifestyle choices can have an impact on their amount in the gut.
By studying the composition of the gut microbiota, scientists could improve mortality prediction, even while taking into account other relevant risk factors, such as smoking and obesity.
The data used in this research make it possible for the first time to study the long-term health impact of the human gut microbiota on a population level.
The researchers are now able to study more closely the specific connections between microbiota and, for example, aging and incidence of common diseases.
If you care about gut health, please read studies about a gut feeling may be key to early detection of colon cancer and findings of this gut problem may be linked to restless legs syndrome.
For more information about gut disease prevention and treatment, please see recent studies about these four ancient herbs may benefit your gut and metabolism and results showing that this diet may reduce Alzheimer’s risk by changing gut bacteria.
The study is published in Nature Communications. One author of the study is Teemu Niiranen.
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