The world’s population is estimated to reach 8.9 billion by 2050 with 370 million people of 80 years of age or older. Ageing is an incurable disease and defined as the ‘deregulation of biochemical processes important for life’, but for the purpose of this book, ageing is better defined as the biological process of growing older. Ageing is part of natural human development. As you will see throughout this book, the microbiological burden on the host is
enormous and clinically significant, and will undoubtedly have a role to play in the ageing process. As humans are living longer, there is a greater propensity to infection. This risk is substantially heightened in elderly individuals who are predisposed to infection. While the process of ageing and its effects on the host’s microbiology are poorly documented and researched, data obtained from gut studies have shown that microbiological changes take place over time suggesting significance to the host. Do the microbiological changes that occur within and upon the host influence the process of ageing or is it the biological changes of the host that affects the microbiology? Does this therefore affect our propensity to disease? As the host’s microbiology changes with ageing, is this significantly beneficial or severely detrimental to the host? Are there ways of enhancing life expectancy by reducing certain bacteria from proliferating or conversely by enhancing the survival of beneficial bacteria?.....
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