Comparison of the Microbiota of Older Adults Living in Nursing Homes and the Community

Abstract

The nose, throat, and skin over the subclavian and femoral veins are the body sites which harbor the bacteria which most commonly cause health care-associated infection. We assessed the effect of nursing home residence on the microbiota of these body sites in older adults. We found that the microbiota composition of the different body sites was similar between nursing home and community participants, but we identified differences in relative abundance levels. We found remarkable similarities in the bacterial communities of different body sites in older adults who lived in nursing homes compared to those in the community among people who had not been on antibiotics for the past 3 months. We also found that the femoral skin microbiota had evidence of stool contamination in the nursing home residents, providing a rationale for improved skin hygiene. Taken together, it appears that the health care environment does not alter the microbiota to the extent that antibiotics do.

Distinct Skin Microbiome and Skin Physiological Functions Between Bedridden Older Patients and Healthy People: A Single-Center Study in Japan

“…We deem, however, that the conclusion of this study would not be largely compromised due to the small size of the cohort, as the findings of this study were applicable to most of the participants, not only to the specific ones. Nonetheless, we could not rule out the possibility that the unique microbiome of bedridden older patients in this study might be because of the hospital environment and/or regional characteristics, although similar findings are reported in the different setting (9). Larger cohorts with multicenter setting will be required for future researches.…”

“…Roghmann et al have revealed similar findings (less commensals and more feces-related Proteus spp., Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus spp. on the femoral skin) in the ambulatory or wheelchair-aided older people of nursing homes (9). Although the study did not mention the use of diapers, it can be speculated that the gut-related bacteria on the skin of hospitalized older patients increases even in the regions where the diaper is not directly attached.…”

“…has been found to be lower in older individuals (7,8). Interestingly, one study showed that the skin microbiomes of older and ambulatory residents in nursing homes were very different from those of age-matched community participants (9). This study implies that there is a synergetic effect between aging and dwelling environment, and the study proposed skin microbiome as a potential source of drug-resistant bacteria in hospitals.…”

“…First, we have limited the measurement area to the sacral region because we first focused on the relationship between PI and skin parameters such as skin microbiome and skin physiological functions. As the compositions of skin microbiome greatly differ depending on the area (1) and the same is true for older patients (9), other parts of the body should be of interest.…”

Association of Systemic Antibiotic Treatment of Acne With Skin Microbiota Characteristics

“…Following DNA extraction, the V3-V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform (300 base pairs, paired-end reads) as previously described. 18,19 …”