Gut Microbiome: Media Report and Journal Article Analysis

This biostatistics report analyzes the findings of a media report and a medical journal article concerning the gut microbiome, its relationship to diet, and its impact on human health. The media report discusses two studies, one linking the Mediterranean diet to improved cognitive function and reduced inflammation, and another associating plant-based diets with reduced heart attack risk. The journal article focuses on the effects of the Mediterranean diet, noting alterations in gut microbiota and improved health outcomes. The report compares the consistency between the two sources, highlighting the positive correlation between the Mediterranean diet and improved health, while also discussing the importance of considering the original journal article before relying solely on media reports. The study's implications for health policymaking are also addressed, emphasizing the potential benefits of recommending Mediterranean or plant-based diets for improved cognitive function and cardiovascular health.

Running head: BIOSTATISTICS
MEDIA REPORT AND MEDICAL JOURNAL
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Summary of media report.......................................................................................................2
Summary of journal article.....................................................................................................2
The medical journal article.........................................................................................................2
Results....................................................................................................................................2
Combining both medial report and medical journal article.......................................................2
Consistency of the media report with medical journal article findings.................................2
The belief of the group about Clinician.................................................................................2
Implications of the study in health policymaking..................................................................2
References..................................................................................................................................3

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Introduction
Summary of the media report
The media report discussion talked about two articles which focused on the gut
microbiome and its health effects in human beings. The first study which has been discussed
talked about the association of “Mediterranean diet” and physical signs of mental aging. This
analysis has been found to include 612 people in the analysis containing millions of gut
microflora. The second study talked about the negative correlation between meat-based diet
and risks of heart attack along with the positive correlation between a plant-based diet and
lowered risk of a heart attack. The findings showed that people who were dependent on the
Mediterranean diet had lowered risk of cognitive disorders and reduced inflammation. Thus,
it can be stated that the Mediterranean diet was rich in the essential nutrients which prevented
the occurrence of age-related disorders in humans. The second study findings showed that
there was a decreased level of TMAO in plant-based diet-dependent people, which increased
the rate of coronary heart disease in meat-based diet-dependent people (Pattilo, 2020).
Summary of the journal article
The journal article aimed at finding the effects of the Mediterranean diet on human
health. Adherence to the diet has been found to be associated with a large number of specific
microbiome alterations. The analysis showed that there was an increase in short and
branched-chain fatty acids production with a lowering in the production of p-cresols, carbon
dioxide and bile acids with the introduction of the Mediterranean diet (Ghosh et al., 2020).
The findings have been found to support the improvement in the diet which modulates the gut
microbiota and has been found to promote healthy ageing. The negative association with C-
reactive protein and interleukin-17 has been found to reduce the inflammation and also
improve cognitive functions after the analysis of Mediterranean diet-dependent people.

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The medical journal article
Results
The results were expressed as Fisher's test with p-value and Z value. The first result showed
that the microbiome profile and diet differs and co-varies between the various baseline
countries. The PERMANOVA test showed a p-value less than 0.001 which is far less than
0.05 and proved that the diet and microbiome profile differs at the baseline of all the
countries. A significant reduction in microbial diversity has been observed across the points
of time associated with the low MedDiet adherence groups. This decline has been found to be
attenuated from the medium to becoming non-significant at high adherence group. Finally,
the scatter plot for association showed that the MedDiet microbiome index has been found to
correlate with improved cognitive function, reduced inflammation and reduced frailty among
the participants.
Combining both medial report and medical journal article
Consistency of the media report with medical journal article findings
The media report can be stated to be somewhat consistent with the findings of the
journal article. This is because both the articles match in terms of their chosen method for the
study, by selecting participants and the results of the studies also matched to a great extent.
This statement can be justified from the fact that the media article also found a positive
correlation between the MedDiet and people's health, the same result found by the journal
article. However, the difference lies in the fact that plant-based diet was not discussed in the
journal article. Thus, the consistency between the media report and medical journal article
finding did not reach 100%. The media report talked about two findings whereas the medial
journal talked about only one finding. Thus, it can be stated that the consistency percentage

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can be stated to lie between 50% to 70% based on the effects of the findings on human
health.
The belief of the group about Clinician
The group should advise the concerned patient to consider the medical journal article first
and then bring the media report for discussion. This is because of the fact that both the media
article and the medical journal article looked the same from an overview. Both of the articles
talked about improvement in mental and physical health based on a Mediterranean diet.
However, when one goes deep inside the journal article, he or she will find that it has one
factor undiscussed which has been covered in the media report. Also in the journal article, it
has been stated that low adherence to the Mediterranean diet is not effective in modifying the
microbiome community for the betterment, high adherence is required. Thus, it should
always be advised, to go through the original article before discussion a media report on a
similar or the same article.
Implications of the study in health policymaking
The study can be stated to be very much effective in health policymaking because of the fact
that both the media report and the journal article provides important information about the gut
microbiota and its effects on human health. This factor is also synergized by the diet which is
followed by the people taken as study participants. Thus, during the making of health policy,
it should be considered that the Mediterranean diet or a plant-based diet is always
recommended for an improvement in cognitive functions and maintain good health for the
human heart. These are the overall implications of the study in the health policymaking
process.

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References
Ghosh, T. S., Rampelli, S., Jeffery, I. B., Santoro, A., Neto, M., Capri, M., ... & Zoetendal, E.
G. (2020). Mediterranean diet intervention alters the gut microbiome in older people
reducing frailty and improving health status: the NU-AGE 1-year dietary intervention
across five European countries. Gut.
Pattilo, A. (2020). Eating one type of food can hijack gut microbes to ward off aging's
deadliest diseases [Ebook]. Retrieved from
https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/eating-one-food-hijackgut- microbes-ward-off-
aging-deadliest-diseases