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World J Gastroenterol. Nov 14, 2018; 24(42): 4750-4758
Published online Nov 14, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i42.4750
Gut microbiota in common elderly diseases affecting activities of daily living
Yukihiro Shimizu
Yukihiro Shimizu, Gastroenterology center, Nanto Municipal Hospital, Toyama 932-0221, Japan
Author contributions: Shimizu Y designed the review, summarized the literatures and wrote the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict-of interest to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Yukihiro Shimizu, MD, PhD, Director, Doctor, Gastroenterology Center, Nanto Municipal Hospital, 938 Inami, Nanto City, Toyama 932-0221, Japan. rsf14240@nifty.com
Telephone: +81-763-821475 Fax: +81-763-821853
Received: August 27, 2018
Peer-review started: August 27, 2018
First decision: October 9, 2018
Revised: October 13, 2018
Accepted: October 21, 2018
Article in press: October 21, 2018
Published online: November 14, 2018
Processing time: 78 Days and 2.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Gut microbiota are involved in the development or prevention of various diseases. The composition of gut microbiota is altered by conditions such as type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, and malignancy such as colorectal cancer, breast cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. Moreover, gut microbiota have been associated with Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, atherosclerotic stroke and cardiovascular disease. All of these diseases are major causes of decreased activities of daily living (ADL). This review summarizes current understanding of the role of gut microbiota in the development or prevention of diseases closely associated with the maintenance of ADL.