Sebum levels are associated with the relationship between skin properties and microbiota in Japanese women

The diversity of the skin microbiota in Japanese women increases with skin aging and is accompanied by decreased sebum content. However, the impact of changes in skin microbiota on skin aging remains unclear. We conducted a cross-sectional subgroup analysis based on age, menopausal status, and sebum content in a cohort of Japanese women aged 30-60 years to elucidate the differences in the relationship between skin properties and microbiota under various conditions. As a fundamental characteristic of this cohort, we confirmed that older participants had lower sebum content and a higher alpha-diversity index. Subgroup analysis based on menopausal status and sebum content revealed differences in the correlations between several skin properties and the conditional dependence structure estimated by Graphical Lasso in groups with varying sebum levels. Additionally, in groups with higher sebum levels, multiple bacterial genera were identified as significantly associated with pH, sebum content, and transepidermal water loss, whereas none were detected in groups with lower sebum levels. These findings suggest that sebum may be associated with differences in the relationship between skin properties and microbiota and may provide a basis for future studies on skincare approaches tailored to sebum levels and specific bacterial features or diversity.