Gut microbiota as potential mediator linking dietary preferences and aging phenotypes

Aging is a complex process influenced by various factors, including gut microbiota and food likings. Focusing on gut and dietary health is a crucial strategy for promoting long-term health and active aging. This study investigates the reciprocal causal relationships between gut microbiota, food likings and aging using Mendelian Randomization (MR) approaches. We leveraged the summary statistics of gut microbiota (n = 5,959), food likings (n = 161,625), and three aging phenotypes including telomere length (n = 472,174), facial aging (n = 423,999), and frailty index (n = 175,226). We performed bidirectional MR analyses to explore the causal effects of gut microbiota and food likings on aging, and mediation analyses to discover potential mediating gut microbiota and food likings. We discovered numerous correlations between gut microbiota, food likings, and aging. Notably, we identified that Lachnospira rogosae and CAG-83 sp000435555 influenced the frailty index through diet fizzy drinks liking, while UBA2922 sp900313925 had an effect through F-wine liking. Our findings provide insights into these complex interactions and offer a basis for personalized dietary interventions to slow aging and improve health, potentially informing new strategies for preventing age-related diseases.