Objectives: The number of people aged 60 y is increasing worldwide, so establishing a relationship between
lifestyle and health-associated factors, such as gut microbiota in an older population, is important. This study
aimed to characterize the gut microbiota of a presenior population, and analyze the association between
some bacteria and quality of life with the Short Form (SF) 36 questionnaire.
Methods: Participants were adult men and women ages 50 to 80 y (n = 74). In addition to the SF-36 question-
naire, fecal samples were collected in cryotubes, and 16S RNA gene sequencing was performed to character-
ize microbial features. Participants were classified into two groups according to SF-36 punctuation. Linear
and logistic regression models were performed to assess the possible association between any bacterial bowl
and SF-36 score. Receiver operating characteristics curves were fitted to define the relative diagnostic
strength of different bacterial taxa for the correct determination of quality of life.
Results: A positive relationship was established between SF-36 score and Actinobacteria (P = 0.0310;
R = 0.2510) compared with Peptostreptococcaceae (P = 0.0259; R = 0.2589), which increased with decreasing
quality of life. Logistic regressions models and receiver operating characteristics curves showed that the rela-
tive abundance of Actinobacteria and Peptostreptococcaceae may be useful to predict quality of life in a prese-
nior population (area under the curve: 0.71).
Conclusions: Quality of life may be associated with the relative abundance of certain bacteria, especially Acti-
nobacteria and Peptostreptococcaceae, which may have a specific effect on certain markers and health care,
which is important to improve quality of life in older populations
