Comparison of the gut microbiota in older people with and without sarcopenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Yanqing Ren ^1,2 Xiangfeng He ² Ling Wang ^1,2 Nan Chen ^3*

• ¹ Department of Sport Rehabilitation, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
• ² Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai, China
• ³ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China

Introduction: Sarcopenia, an age-related disorder marked by decreased skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function, is associated with negative health impacts in individuals and financial burdens on families and society. Studies have suggested that age-related alterations in gut microbiota may contribute to the development of sarcopenia in older people through the gut-muscle axis, thus modulation of gut microbiota may be a promising approach for sarcopenia treatment. However, the characteristic gut microbiota for sarcopenia has not been consistent across studies.Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the diversity and compositional differences in the gut microbiota of older people with and without sarcopenia, and to identify gut microbiota biomarkers with therapeutic potential for sarcopenia.The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Database were searched studies about the gut microbiota characteristics in older people with sarcopenia. The quality of included articles was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Weighted standardised mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for α-diversity index were estimated using a random effects model. Qualitative synthesis was conducted for β-diversity and the correlation between gut microbiota and muscle parameters. The relative abundance of the gut microbiota was analysed quantitatively and qualitatively, respectively.Results: Pooled estimates showed that α-diversity was significantly lower in older people with sarcopenia (SMD: -0.41, 95% CI: -0.57 to -0.26, I²: 71%, P < 0.00001).The findings of β-diversity varied across included studie. In addition, our study identified gut microbiota showing a potential and negative correlation with sarcopenia, such as Prevotella, Slackia, Agathobacter, Alloprevotella, Prevotella copri, Prevotellaceae sp., Bacteroides coprophilus, Mitsuokella multacida, Bacteroides massiliensis, Bacteroides coprocola Conversely, a potential and positive correlation was observed with opportunistic pathogens like Escherichia-Shigella, Eggerthella, Eggerthella lenta and Collinsella aerofaciens.Discussion: This study showed that α-diversity decreased sarcopenia, probably predominantly due to diminished richness rather than evenness. In addition, although findings of β-diversity varied across included studies, the overall trend towards a decrease in SCFAs-producing bacteria and an increase in conditionally pathogenic bacteria. This study provides new ideas for targeting the gut microbiota for the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia.