Sex differences in microbiota taxa in the link between physical capacity and biological age in midlife

IMPORTANCE Microbiota composition has been linked to physical activity, health measures, and biological age, but a shared profile has yet to be determined. We identified specific taxa linking physical capacity and biological age, presenting a potential mechanism between physical capacity and health status; identified taxa were also linked with non-communicable diseases. OBJECTIVE To examine the associations between microbiota composition with measures of physical capacity and biological age in midlife. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A cross-sectional study including a subset of healthy midlife individuals from the Jerusalem Perinatal Study. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The microbiota profile was characterized from stool samples that were analyzed using 16SrRNA gene sequencing. Shannon α-diversity and unweighted UniFrac distance β-diversity and taxa abundance were examined. Biological age was measured using the Klemera-Doubal method based on a composition of blood and physiological biomarkers. Physical capacity was calculated based on sex-standardized functional tests across six domains. RESULTS Seventy individuals (32 women), mean age 44.58±0.18, were included in the analysis. The women had significantly richer microbiota, p=0.025; however, no links with age, biological age or physical capacity were found for either women or men. The men had slightly greater β-diversity, however a positive association of β-diversity with biological age, p=0.01, and with physical capacity, p=0.04 was found for women only. For women, an increase in abundance of Roseburia faecis and Collinsella aerofaciens, as well as the genus Ruminococcus, were significantly associated with higher biological age and lower physical capacity; an increase in abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila and genus Bacteroides were associated with lower biological age and increased physical capacity. Identified taxa were also associated with non-communicable diseases. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE We demonstrated that specific microbiota taxa were associated with biological age and physical capacity, suggesting microbiota composition is a potential mechanism in the link between physical capacity and health status. Investigations aimed to identify the microbiota composition could support the identification of accelerated aging status in midlife individuals and modify it. Investigating additional factors underlying this relationship may facilitate the development of a more accurate method to estimate the rate of aging.