Source:Biocodex Microbiota Institute.

The educational content in this post, elaborated in collaboration with Biocodex Microbiota Institute, was independently developed and approved by the GMFH publishing team and editorial board.

 

The gut microbiota, the roughly 39 trillion bacteria and other microorganisms that live in the digestive tract contributes to health by digesting foods, fighting pathogens, and breaking down potentially toxic food compounds.

We report the findings of an international survey* that asked 6,500 people worldwide what they know about ‘what is the microbiota’; its role in health; and scientific evidence on interventions to take care of it.

 

🔴Only 1 in 5 people are familiar with the meaning of ‘microbiome’

The huge increase in the number of microbiome scientific publications has led to 64% of people that have already heard about the term ‘microbiome’, while people seem more aware of the older term ‘flora’ despite its inaccuracy. Only 1 in 5 people (21%) know exactly what the microbiome is.

The term ‘microbiome’ refers to the entire habitat, including the microorganisms, their genomes, and the surrounding environmental conditions. To be precise, it should be preceded by the said location, for example, ‘the gut microbiome’ refers to the intestinal tract. Across all microbiotas in our body, the gut microbiota was the best known, while oral, vaginal, and skin microbiota are much less well known.

The survey also revealed that only 1 in 4 people (28%) have heard of the term ‘dysbiosis’ and have poor knowledge about the causes and consequences of an altered microbiome. For instance, 58% of responders did not know that neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and autism could be associated to the intestinal microbiome.

“The old and poetic terms of intestinal flora or microflora referred to the ancient classification ranking ‘animalcules‘ within plants. Together with the improvement of tools to characterize microbial ecosystems, and the refinement of the classification we now talk of a microbiota when referring to a community of microbes and microbiome for a global ecological system (biome).” Joël Doré, gut microbial ecologist and research director at INRAE.

 

🔴Half of people adopt everyday actions to prevent dysbiosis

Most people knew that the microbiome plays an important role in immune system balance and an imbalanced microbiome may have health consequences. When it comes to interventions adopted to take care of the microbiome, only 57% of responders have already tried specific behaviors to decrease the risk of microbiome imbalance.

Most participants were aware of the fact that diet and antibiotics are interventions that have a deep impact on the gut microbiome. While 62% of interviewed people were aware that taking probiotics could help to maintain microbiome health, half of responders have little or no idea what probiotics are and the same is true for prebiotics.

In addition, 35% of women thought taking regular vaginal douches helps maintain a healthy microbiome, while the fact is that vaginal douching may cause vaginal dysbiosis, predisposing to genitourinary infections.

“Based on rigorous scientific demonstrations, there are only a few probiotics that will have been documented as providing health benefits based on properly designed clinical trials. Benefits will be attached to the strain(s) of probiotic, and the precise condition or symptoms concerned. In addition, recent work indicated that the baseline microbiome of the person may influence the potential functional benefits to be expected from a given probiotic supplement. Yet, together with global nutrition, probiotics and prebiotics could be useful for prevention in many contexts and we should hope for robust scientific demonstrations and proper diffusion of evidence towards health-care professionals.” Joël Doré, gut microbial ecologist and research director at INRAE.

 

🔴Healthcare professionals are key pillars in translating the microbiota science to patients

While people use different sources of information to keep updated in the complex microbiome field, healthcare professionals are key mediators between scientific studies and patients. As such, 2 in 5 people (44%) were informed by their healthcare professional of the right behaviors to adopt to preserve their microbiome balance, while only 1 in 3 people had been informed by their healthcare professional that antibiotics can disrupt the microbiome. Family physicians, gastroenterologists, and dietitians are the main healthcare professionals who provide information about the microbiome.

Overall, these findings explain that 95% of people who have received information from their healthcare professional have adopted behaviors to maintain a balanced microbiome compared to 57%, out of all responders.

“Microbiome science is making great advances and indeed healthcare professionals play a key role in capturing, evaluating and translating scientific results that document the benefits of a proper management of microbiome-health by nutritional choices and adapted supplements. Medical societies and organizations also help in securing the level of evidence provided by scientific studies.” Joël Doré, gut microbial ecologist and research director at INRAE.

 

🔴Older adults are the least informed about microbiome science

The survey revealed that age is an important determinant of how a person is adequately informed about the microbiome. For example, while 66% of parents have adopted practices on how to maintain a balanced microbiome, this is the case for only 50% of older adults.

Overall, adults 25-44 years of age, especially parents, are the age group with the best knowledge about the microbiome and dysbiosis terms, considering that  ‘dysbiosis’ is a vague term because scientists still do not know precisely what is a healthy or normal microbiome.

In contrast, 26% of older adults have received information about the microbiome and its role in health and disease from their healthcare professional. It is also surprising to highlight that almost 1 in 2 women did not know what is meant by the vaginal microbiome despite its relevance to women’s overall health.

France, Spain, and Mexico were the countries with the highest level of knowledge of the term ‘microbiome’, and Latin America and China were the countries that were more familiar with each microbiome of the body. Brazilians have a better knowledge of the microbiome and they are among those who have adopted most behaviors to preserve their microbiome health, with 64% concerned compared to 47% of French people and Americans.

“It is intriguing to notice that the knowledge of the terms attached to the microbiome field is still far from perfect and yet interesting to perceive that there is a rising awareness of the importance of taking care of ones microbiome-health to support overall health and well-being. We humans are microbial and interestingly caring for one’s microbiome is essentially aligned with caring for the planet, so we can only hope for more awareness among healthcare professionals and even more consciousness within the general population.” Joël Doré, gut microbial ecologist and research director at INRAE.

 

Concluding remarks

  • Among the people who have already heard about the microbiome, only 1 in 5 know exactly what it is.
  • People are familiar with interventions to balance their microbiome and 6 in 10 people are aware that taking probiotics may help support microbiome health.
  • People receiving information from their healthcare professionals have adopted behaviors aiming to limit the risk of microbiome imbalance.
  • Age and country of origin influence the level of microbiome information, with older adults being the ones who are less adequately informed and Brazilians the ones who have already adopted habits expected to maintain a balanced microbiome.

 

*In the International Microbiota Observatory, carried out by Biocodex Microbiota Institute and Ipsos, 6,500 people from 7 countries (the United States, Brazil, Mexico, France, Portugal, Spain, and China) completed an online survey to assess their level of awareness and adequate information they are exposed to concerning the microbiome and interventions for taking care of it.

 

References:

The International Microbiota Observatory. Biocodex Microbiota Institute and IPSOS, 2023. Available: https://www.biocodexmicrobiotainstitute.com/en/international-microbiota-observatory