SynthesisBMC geriatrics2023
Effects of exercise and physical activity on gut microbiota composition and function in older adults: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC geriatrics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 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.
Exercise Improves Gastrointestinal Function in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients: A Single Center Prospective Randomized Controlled Study
Effect of Physical Activity and/or Probiotics on Body Composition and Physiological Parameters in Women
Promoting Health Through Symbiosis: Exploring the Relationship Between Gut Microbiota, Probiotics, and Physical Activity in Older Adults
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Exercise-induced modulation of gut microbiota in individuals with obesity and type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Exercise on Gut Microbiota of Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- The effect of elastic-band resistance training on fecal microbiota and derived metabolites of aged individuals with possible sarcopenia.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Trial
- Exercise Training Transiently Increases Gut Microbiota Diversity and Short-Chain Fatty Acid Production in a Diet-Dependent Manner in Healthy Adults.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- mTOR-Gut Microbiome Interaction in Aging: Fusobacterium nucleatum, Resistance Training and Multi-nutrient Supplementation Effects in Aged Male Rats.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026Article
- Effects of exercise on gut microbiota in patients with cancer: a scoping review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Gut Microbiota and Ageing: Mechanisms, Age-Related Diseases, and Therapeutic Perspectives.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Article
- Composition of the Gut Microbiota in Older Adults Residing in a Nursing Home and Its Association with Dementia.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Functional signatures of the gut microbiome in middle-aged regular runners: insights from a metagenomic study.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Exercise prescription for mood and cognition: targeting the microbiota-gut-brain axis through short-chain fatty acids.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Review
- Microbiota-Driven Immune Dysregulation Along the Gut-Lung-Vascular Axis in Asthma and Atherosclerosis.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Gut microbiota regulates exercise-induced hormetic modulation of cognitive function.EBioMedicine · 2025Article
- Exercise, Diet, and Brain Health: From the Perspective of Gut Microbiota Regulation.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Dietary intake of live microbes mitigates the mortality risk associated with sedentary behavior in US hypertensive individuals.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Global, regional, and national burden of disease analysis on paralytic ileus and intestinal obstruction in adults aged 65 and over from 1990 to 2021, with projections for 2030: a Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 analysis.BMC gastroenterology · 2025Article
- Fecal Microbiota and Associated Metabolites Are Minimally Affected by Ten Weeks of Resistance Training in Younger and Older Adults.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Obesity and cancer: unravelling the microbiome's hidden role.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Exercise as a modulator of gut microbiota for improvement of sleep quality: a narrative review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe characterization and research around the gut microbiome in older people emphasize microbial populations change considerably by losing the diversity of species. Then, this review aims to determine if there is any effect on the gut microbiota of adults older than 65 that starts an exercise intervention or improves physical activity level. Also, this review describes the changes in composition, diversity, and function of the gut microbiota of older subjects that had improved their physical activity level.
methodsThe type of studies included in this review were studies describing human gut microbiota responses to any exercise stimulus; cross-sectional studies focused on comparing gut microbiota in older adults with different physical activity levels-from athletes to inactive individuals; studies containing older people (women and men), and studies written in English. This review's primary outcomes of interest were gut microbiota abundance and diversity.
resultsTwelve cross-sectional studies and three randomized controlled trials were examined. Independently of the type of study, diversity metrics from Alpha and Beta diversity remained without changes in almost all the studies. Likewise, cross-sectional studies do not reflect significant changes in gut microbiota diversity; no significant differences were detected among diverse groups in the relative abundances of the major phyla or alpha diversity measures. Otherwise, relative abundance analysis showed a significant change in older adults who conducted an exercise program for five weeks or more at the genus level.
conclusionsHere, we did not identify significant shifts in diversity metrics; only one study reported a significant difference in Alpha diversity from overweight people with higher physical activity levels. The abundance of some bacteria is higher in aged people, after an exercise program, or in comparison with control groups, especially at the genus and species levels. There needs to be more information related to function and metabolic pathways that can be crucial to understand the effect of exercise and physical activity in older adults.
trial registrationPROSPERO ID: CRD42022331551.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.