ArticleJournal of the American Medical Directors Association2017
Intestinal Permeability Biomarker Zonulin is Elevated in Healthy Aging.
Article in Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 89 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 155 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dietary interventions and the gut microbiota: a systematic literature review of 80 controlled clinical trials.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The Effects of Prebiotic Dietary Fibers, Probiotics, and Synbiotics on Gut Permeability and Immunity: A Systematic Review.Iranian journal of medical sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Intestinal permeability in human cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Bone Loss in Rodent Models: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research · 2023Pooled it
- The Effects of Pro-, Pre-, and Synbiotics on Muscle Wasting, a Systematic Review-Gut Permeability as Potential Treatment Target.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- The effect of multi-strain probiotics on frailty in osteoarthritis patients: a randomized trial focusing on intestinal leak repair.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Potentially Beneficial Effects on Healthy Aging by Supplementation of the EPA-Rich MicroalgaeMarine drugs · 2022Trial
- Higher bacterial DNAemia can affect the impact of a polyphenol-rich dietary pattern on biomarkers of intestinal permeability and cardiovascular risk in older subjects.European journal of nutrition · 2022Trial
- Trial
- A low-gluten diet induces changes in the intestinal microbiome of healthy Danish adults.Nature communications · 2018Trial
- Article
- The long-lived immune system of centenarians.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2026Review
- Serum LBP and zonulin levels with brain MRS findings and gastrointestinal symptoms in schizophrenia and health.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- MIND-NL diet adherence moderates the relation of low-grade systemic inflammation with neuroinflammatory metabolites and cognitive functioning: an exploratory cross-sectional study in older adults.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- The Role of Diet in Shaping Gut Microbiota and Its Impact on Host Metabolic Regulation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The gut as a central hub for multi-organ crosstalk in aging.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2026Review
- High mobility group box 1: DAMPening the danger molecule in cardiovascular disease with exercise.Cell stress & chaperones · 2026Review
- Article
- Diet-gut microbiota-immune-brain interactions in aging: mechanistic pathways and clinical implications.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Review
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionIncreased gut permeability ("leaky gut") has been proposed as a potential contributor to age-related inflammation and gut dysbiosis. However, information on the relationship between a leaky gut and inflammation and physical frailty during aging are limited.
objectiveTo investigate the hypothesis that an aging-associated leaky gut is linked to the age-related inflammation and frailty.
methodsTwo cohorts of healthy adults were studied: young (18-30 years old, n = 19) and older (≥70 years old, n = 18). Serum concentrations of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6, zonulin (a marker for leaky gut), and high-mobility group box protein (HMGB1, a nuclear protein triggering inflammation) were measured. Correlations of serum levels of zonulin and HMGB1 with strength of plantar flexor muscles and number of steps taken per day were analyzed.
resultsSerum concentration of zonulin and HMGB1 were 22% (P = .005) and 16% (P = .010) higher in the older versus young adults. Serum zonulin was positively associated with concentrations of TNF-α (r = 0.357, P = .032) and IL-6 (r = 0.345, P = .043). Importantly, both zonulin and HMGB1 were negatively correlated with skeletal muscle strength (zonulin: r = -0.332, P = .048; HMGB1: r = -0.383, P = .023), and habitual physical activity (zonulin: r = -0.410, P = .016; HMGB1: r = -0.483, P = .004).
conclusionsSerum zonulin was associated with both systemic inflammation and 2 key indices of physical frailty. These data suggest that a leaky gut may play a critical role in the development of age-related inflammation and frailty.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.