The influence of different physical activity behaviours on the gut microbiota of older Irish adults

Objective: A 24-hour day is made up of time spent in a range of physical activity (PA) behaviours, including sleep, sedentary time, standing, light-intensity PA (LIPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), all of which may have the potential to alter an individual’s health through various different pathways and mechanisms. This study aimed to explore the relationship between PA behaviours and the gut microbiome in older adults. Design: Cross-sectional study. Settings and Participants: Participants (n=100; age 69.0 [3.0] years; 44% female) from the Mitchelstown Cohort Rescreen (MCR) Study (2015-2017). Methods: Participants provided measures of gut microbiome composition (profiled by sequencing 16S rRNA gene amplicons), and objective measures of PA behaviours (by a 7-day wear protocol using an activPAL3 Micro). Results: Standing time was positively correlated with the abundance of butyrate-producing and anti-inflammatory bacteria, including Ruminococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae and Bifidobacterium, MVPA was positively associated with the abundance of Lachnospiraceae bacteria, while sedentary time was associated with lower abundance of Ruminococcaceae and higher abundance of Streptococcus spp. Conclusion: Physical activity behaviours appear to influence gut microbiota composition in older adults, with different PA behaviours having diverging effects on gut microbiota composition.