Health status assessment system

Abstract

This makes it possible to assess health status based on the proportion of beneficial Bifidobacteria in the gut microbiota. [Solution] A health status evaluation system for evaluating the health status of a user, comprising: an inspection management unit that acquires and records the results of tests related to the user's intestinal microbiota; an questionnaire management unit that presents a questionnaire related to the user's health status to the user, acquires and records the responses; and an analysis processing unit that evaluates the user's health status based on the occupancy rate of bifidobacteria in the intestinal microbiota in the test results and the responses to the questionnaire.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for evaluating a person's health condition, and particularly to a health condition evaluation system that evaluates a health condition by using prebiotics and / or probiotics.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, it has been reported that changes in the intestinal bacteria (intestinal flora) living in the human intestine are closely related to the prevention and improvement of diseases, and efforts have been made to maintain and enhance the health condition by improving the state of the intestinal flora. The intestinal flora is composed of extremely diverse bacteria, which have a close relationship with each other and are balanced in a complex manner. Among the intestinal flora, Bifidobacterium is widely known as a useful bacterium, and research has shown that it contributes to the prevention and improvement of diseases.

[0003] As a method for improving the state of the intestinal flora, roughly divided, there are a method of directly ingesting "probiotics", which are live useful bacteria, and a method of ingesting "prebiotics", such as oligosaccharides and dietary fibers, which have the effect of increasing the useful bacteria originally present in the intestine. As a technique related to the improvement of the intestinal flora, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-165716 (Patent Document 1) discloses grasping the eating habits of a subject and the state of the indigenous intestinal bacteria, and grasping the eating habits necessary to realize preferable indigenous intestinal bacteria based on the correlation relationship, and obtaining and outputting the deviation from the current eating habits, thereby supporting a diet for health promotion by improving the indigenous intestinal bacteria type.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0005] In recent years, next-generation sequencing technologies such as 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing have been used to analyze the gut microbiota of patients with specific diseases and healthy individuals. This allows for the identification of gut bacteria correlated with specific diseases, and the evaluation of disease risk based on parameters such as the proportion of these bacteria, their genes, or metabolites. As a result, the intake of prebiotics or probiotics to regulate the proportion of these bacteria is recommended for the prevention or improvement of the disease. However, each patient has a unique gut microbiota, and even if the same prebiotics or probiotics are taken, the proportion of the target gut bacteria may not behave similarly, nor may the same preventive or therapeutic effects on the disease be obtained. Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to provide a health status evaluation system that can evaluate health status with higher accuracy by using the proportion of Bifidobacterium, a beneficial bacterium, in the intestinal microbiota as an indicator, simultaneously monitoring the proportion of Bifidobacterium and health status when prebiotics or probiotics are continuously ingested for a certain period of time, and evaluating the health status that shows a correlation as a result. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A brief overview of some of the representative inventions disclosed in this application is as follows: A representative embodiment of the present invention is a health status evaluation system for monitoring the health status of a user, comprising: an inspection management unit that acquires and records the results of tests related to the user's intestinal microbiota; an questionnaire management unit that presents a questionnaire regarding the user's health status to the user, acquires and records the user's responses; and an analysis processing unit that evaluates the user's health status based on the occupancy rate of Bifidobacteria in the intestinal microbiota in the test results and the user's responses to the questionnaire. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The effects obtained by some of the representative inventions disclosed in this application can be briefly explained as follows: In other words, according to a typical embodiment of the present invention, it becomes possible to evaluate health status with higher accuracy depending on the level of Bifidobacteria occupancy in the intestinal microbiota. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure outlines an example configuration of a health status evaluation system, which is one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This flowchart outlines an example of the process flow for monitoring a user's health status in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This figure outlines an example of the initial occupancy rate of bifidobacteria among multiple users in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This figure outlines an example of the change in the proportion of Bifidobacteria before and after continuous intake of prebiotics by multiple users in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This figure outlines an example of the change in the proportion of Bifidobacteria before and after continuous intake of prebiotics by multiple users in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This figure outlines an example of a user questionnaire in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] This figure outlines an example of an analysis of a user's health status in one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In principle, the same parts will be denoted by the same reference numerals in all the drawings used to describe the embodiments, and repeated descriptions will be omitted. On the other hand, a part that is denoted by a reference numeral and described in one drawing may be referred to again in the description of another drawing, although it will not be shown again.

[0010] <Overview> One embodiment of the present invention, a health status evaluation system, evaluates health status based on the proportion of Bifidobacteria in the gut microbiota. The average proportion of Bifidobacteria in healthy individuals is said to be 2% to 14% (see, for example, "Age-related changes in gut microbiota composition from newborn to centenarian: a cross-sectional study" (https: / / bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com / articles / 10.1186 / s12866-016-0708-5), page 5), and maintaining such an appropriate proportion is considered useful from the standpoint of reducing the risk of disease onset and maintaining and improving health status.

[0011] The intake of prebiotics and / or probiotics is an effective means of controlling the occupancy rate of bifidobacteria. In particular, the functional oligosaccharide 1-kestose is known to have the function of changing the occupancy rate of bifidobacteria to an appropriate level, and many clinical trials have been conducted on the relationship between bifidobacteria and 1-kestose.

[0012] In this embodiment, disease risk and health status are evaluated by focusing on the value and changes in the occupancy rate of Bifidobacteria based on the intake of 1-kestose as a prebiotic. This enables highly accurate evaluation of disease risk and health status, and makes it possible to contribute to reducing disease risk and maintaining / improving health status using prebiotics and / or probiotics. Furthermore, it makes it possible to perform evaluations without subjecting healthy individuals to excessive stress.

[0013] <System Configuration> Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a health status evaluation system, which is one embodiment of the present invention. The health status evaluation system 1 is configured, for example, with server equipment or a virtual server built on a cloud computing service, and a user terminal 2, which is an information processing terminal such as a PC (Personal Computer), tablet terminal, or smartphone used by the user (subject), accesses it via a web browser or dedicated application (not shown) through a network (not shown) such as the internet, VPN (Virtual Private Network), or LAN (Local Area Network).

[0014] The health status assessment system 1, for example, uses a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) to execute middleware such as an OS (Operating System), DBMS (Database Management System), and web server programs, as well as software running on top of them, which are loaded into memory from storage devices such as HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) and SSDs (Solid State Drives), thereby realizing various functions related to monitoring the occupancy rate of bifidobacteria. This health status assessment system 1 has various parts, such as a test management unit 11, a questionnaire management unit 12, and an analysis management unit 13, which are implemented by software. It also has various data stores, such as test results 21, questionnaire results 22, and user management 23, which are implemented by databases and file tables.

[0015] The inspection management unit 11 requests an external inspection institution 3 to conduct an inspection for obtaining biological information regarding the intestinal flora of users containing Bifidobacterium, and has a function of obtaining the inspection results from the inspection institution 3 and recording them as inspection results 21. The request for inspection to the inspection institution 3 can be made, for example, by the inspection management unit 11 connecting to an information processing system (not shown) of the inspection institution 3 online, sending an email, etc., and an appropriate method can be taken according to the interface on the inspection institution 3 side. It may also be that the administrator of the health status evaluation system 1, etc. is notified of the fact that an inspection is requested and the administrator, etc. manually requests it. Further, notifications, guidance, etc. may be given to the target users (user terminals 2) in conjunction with the request to the inspection institution 3. In addition, the information of each user can be used by registering the content input when the user registers for an account to use the service according to this embodiment in the user management 23, for example. Regarding the timing of requesting an inspection, the inspection management unit 11 may automatically determine it based on a predetermined rule, or it may be based on instructions from users, administrators, etc.

[0016] In the inspection institution 3 that has received the inspection request, for example, a predetermined inspection kit including fecal specimens, etc. is sent to the target user, a specimen is obtained from the user, an inspection of the intestinal flora is conducted, and the inspection results are delivered to the inspection management unit 11 online or offline. The inspection method can use, for example, next-generation sequencing analysis techniques such as the above-described 16SrRNA amplicon sequencing. It is also possible to use methods such as quantitative PCR (qPCR). In this embodiment, the occupancy rate of Bifidobacterium is used as an index. The questionnaire management unit 12 has a function of conducting a questionnaire on the user's health status and physical condition, obtaining the results, and recording them in the questionnaire results 22. The user can access the questionnaire management unit 12 using the user terminal 2 and answer the questionnaire online. Alternatively, the questionnaire may be conducted offline using a paper medium or the like, and the results may be input by the administrator or the like of the health status evaluation system 1 into the questionnaire management unit 12 or the result file may be uploaded. The content of the questionnaire will be described later.

[0017] Based on the test results 21 related to the intestinal flora and the content of the questionnaire results 22 from the user, the analysis processing unit 13 monitors whether the occupancy rate of Bifidobacterium in the intestinal flora of the target user is within a predetermined range (for example, 2% to 14% as described above) where it can be said to be healthy and appropriate, and its transition, and also has a function of analyzing the correlation with the subjective health status recognized by the user from the questionnaire results. It may also have a function that allows the user to view and refer to their own analysis results via the user terminal 2. When the occupancy rate of Bifidobacterium is not within the above-mentioned predetermined range, a notification or the like that promotes or instructs the intake of prebiotics and / or probiotics (1-kestose in this embodiment) may be sent to the target user (or administrator or the like) according to the questionnaire results. It may also separately have a function of online selling (or acting as an intermediary, etc.) the necessary prebiotics and / or probiotics to the user.

[0018] <Processing flow> Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an overview of an example of the processing flow for monitoring the health status of a user in an embodiment of the present invention. First, the inspection management unit 11 requests the inspection institution 3 to conduct an inspection on the intestinal flora of the target user, and obtains the initial state of the intestinal flora of the target user as the inspection result (S01). Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the initial bifidobacteria occupancy rate of multiple users in one embodiment of the present invention. Here, as an example, the test results for 15 users (subjects) are shown. The left side of the diagram shows the bifidobacteria occupancy rate of each user as is, while the right side of the diagram shows the results of sorting each user in ascending order of bifidobacteria occupancy rate. As described above, in this embodiment, users with an occupancy rate lower than 2% to 14% (7 people in the example of Figure 3) are classified as the "low value group," users with an occupancy rate within that range (2 people in the example of Figure 3) are classified as the "appropriate value group," and users with an occupancy rate higher than that range (6 people in the example of Figure 3) are classified as the "high value group."

[0019] Returning to Figure 2, the user then continuously ingests a prebiotic (1-kestose in this embodiment) for a predetermined period (e.g., one month) (S02). Instructions regarding the intake of 1-kestose may be sent to the user by email from the Inspection Management Department 11, or manually by an administrator. If the user has set and registered, the system may instruct or execute the process of shipping supplements or other foods containing 1-kestose.

[0020] When the period of continuous intake of prebiotics (1-kestose) is completed (it does not need to be exactly at the time of completion, but may be around the time of completion), the Inspection Management Department 11 again requests the Inspection Agency 3 to perform an intestinal microbiota test on the target user, similar to step S01, and obtains the state of the target user's intestinal microbiota at the end of the period of continuous intake of prebiotics as a result of the test (S03).

[0021] Figures 4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating an example of the change in the occupancy rate of bifidobacteria before and after continuous intake of prebiotics in multiple users in one embodiment of the present invention. The table in Figure 4 shows the bifidobacteria occupancy rates before and after continuous intake for each of the subjects in the low-value group, appropriate-value group, and high-value group shown in the example in Figure 3, and the example in Figure 5 graphs the change in that occupancy rate. As shown in the diagrams, although some users (subjects) who initially belonged to the low-value group or high-value group did not fall within the appropriate range of 2% to 14% (shaded area in Figure 5) even after continuous intake of prebiotics (subjects No. 7, 9, 10, and 12 in the example in Figure 4), it is shown that many users fell within the appropriate range.

[0022] Returning to Figure 2, at the end of the prebiotic intake period, in addition to conducting tests related to the gut microbiota (step S03), the questionnaire management unit 12 conducts a questionnaire regarding the health status and physical condition of each user (S04). In the flowchart of Figure 2, it is shown that the questionnaire (step S04) is conducted after the tests related to the gut microbiota (step S03), but the order is not limited and may be reversed or both may be conducted in parallel. Furthermore, for the first prebiotic intake period, the questionnaire may be conducted not only at the end of the intake period but also at the start of the intake period.

[0023] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a questionnaire for users in one embodiment of the present invention. In the example in Figure 6, users are asked to answer on a 4-point scale from "1" to "4" whether they felt their condition improved before and after a period of continuous intake of prebiotics for seven items related to their health and physical condition (stomach condition, cold, mood, appetite, sleep, eyes, and stress). It goes without saying that the health and physical condition questions are not limited to the seven types shown in the diagram, and the answers do not necessarily have to be on a four-point scale; they can be set and adjusted as needed. If it is possible to quantitatively evaluate each user's subjective perception of their health and physical condition, it is also possible to accept answers in text or written form and evaluate them using AI (Artificial Intelligence) such as Large Language Models (LLMs). In addition, objective numerical data, such as the results of various measurements from health checkups, may be used instead of, or in addition to, subjective perceptions from questionnaires.

[0024] Returning to Figure 2, once the test results regarding the gut microbiota at the end of the prebiotic intake period and the results of the questionnaire from the user are obtained, the analysis processing unit 13 performs an analysis on the maintenance and improvement of health status based on this data (S05). Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an analysis related to the maintenance and improvement of users' health status in one embodiment of the present invention. Here, the results of a questionnaire administered to each user (subject) classified into low-value group, appropriate-value group, and high-value group based on the initial bifidobacteria occupancy rate before continuous intake of prebiotics are shown. The table shows the total number of people who answered "1" to "4" for each of the seven types of questions.

[0025] In all user groups—low-value, normal-value, and high-value—a significant number of respondents (responding with "3" or "4") reported feeling that their health and physical condition had improved. This indicates that, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, continued intake of 1-kestose brings the proportion of bifidobacteria within the normal range for many users, and also leads to a greater number of users feeling that their health and physical condition have been maintained or improved subjectively. On the other hand, in the table in Figure 7, the numbers in parentheses in the column for the number of users who answered "1" in the low-value group and the high-value group indicate the number of users who, among those who gave that answer, did not have a bifidobacteria occupancy rate within the appropriate range even after continued intake of 1-kestose, as shown in Figures 4 and 5. In other words, the majority of users who answered that they were in poor health or physically unwell were users whose bifidobacteria occupancy rate did not fall within the appropriate range. These findings suggest a correlation between whether the proportion of bifidobacteria is within an appropriate range and subjective perceptions of health and physical condition. Therefore, maintaining the proportion of bifidobacteria within an appropriate range is beneficial for maintaining and improving health. Furthermore, the analysis processing unit 13 can determine, in more detail, whether there is a statistical correlation between the proportion of bifidobacteria and subjective perceptions of health status and physical condition for each user in the low-value group, appropriate-value group, and high-value group, as well as for each item of health status and physical condition. For example, for new users, it is possible to predict what health status and physical condition effects will occur from continued intake of prebiotics, depending on which group their bifidobacteria proportion belongs to.

[0026] Returning to Figure 2, after an analysis based on the bifidobacteria occupancy rate and questionnaire results (step S05), it is determined whether the bifidobacteria occupancy rate of the target user falls within the appropriate range (S06). If it falls within the appropriate range (Yes in step S06), the health status monitoring process is terminated. On the other hand, if it does not fall within the appropriate range (No in step S06), the process returns to step S02 and repeats the process of continuous intake of prebiotics (1-kestose) for a certain period until the bifidobacteria occupancy rate falls within the appropriate range.

[0027] As described above, according to the health status evaluation system 1, which is one embodiment of the present invention, the occupancy rate of Bifidobacteria in the intestinal microbiota, which can be considered a barometer of health, is monitored in conjunction with the results of questionnaires related to health status and physical condition, and the occupancy rate of Bifidobacteria is controlled to fall within the appropriate range by continuous intake of prebiotics (1-kestose) for a certain period of time. This makes it possible to evaluate the risk of disease onset and health status inexpensively and quickly, and to contribute to reducing the risk of disease onset and maintaining and improving health status by utilizing prebiotics. Furthermore, it is possible to perform evaluations without causing excessive stress to healthy individuals. By analyzing the results of intestinal microbiota tests and health status questionnaires obtained from multiple users before and after continuous intake of specified prebiotics and / or probiotics for a certain period, and by identifying health statuses that correlate with the proportion of Bifidobacterium in the intestinal microbiota and using these as evaluation targets, it becomes possible to evaluate the health status of new users with higher accuracy based on the proportion of Bifidobacterium in their intestinal microbiota before prebiotic and / or probiotic intake. Furthermore, it becomes possible to predict the improvement effect of the specified prebiotics and / or probiotics on the health status.

[0028] Furthermore, as described above, multiple users are classified into one of three groups—low-Bifidobacterium, appropriate-value, or high-value—based on the standard range of Bifidobacterium occupancy (e.g., 2% to 14%), based on the Bifidobacterium occupancy rate in the intestinal microbiota obtained before continuous intake of the prescribed prebiotics and / or probiotics for a certain period. Based on the responses to a questionnaire regarding the health status of each group, health conditions that correlate with the Bifidobacterium occupancy rate of each group are identified. Similarly, new users are also classified into one of the low-Bifidobacterium, appropriate-value, or high-value groups, and the health conditions identified in the corresponding group are used as the evaluation target, making it possible to evaluate with higher accuracy.

[0029] The present inventors have described the invention in detail based on embodiments above, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified in various ways without departing from its essence. Furthermore, the above embodiments are described in detail for the purpose of explaining the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace some of the configurations of the above embodiments with other configurations.

[0030] Furthermore, each of the above configurations, functions, processing units, and processing means may be implemented in hardware, in whole or in part, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. Alternatively, each of the above configurations, functions, and means may be implemented in software by having the processor interpret and execute programs that implement each function. Information such as programs, tables, and files that implement each function can be stored in memory, hard disks, SSDs, or other recording devices, or in recording media such as IC cards, SD cards, or DVDs.

[0031] Furthermore, in the diagrams above, the control lines and information lines shown are those deemed necessary for explanation and do not necessarily represent all control lines and information lines that would be present in the actual implementation. In reality, it can be assumed that almost all components are interconnected. [Industrial applicability]

[0032] This invention can be used in a health status assessment system that utilizes prebiotics to evaluate the risk of developing a disease. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0033] 1…Health status assessment system, 2…User terminal, 3…Testing institution, 11...Inspection Management Department, 12...Questionnaire Management Department, 13...Analysis Processing Department 21...Inspection results, 22...Questionnaire results, 23...User management

Claims

1. A health status assessment system that evaluates the health status of users, A testing management department that acquires and records the test results regarding the gut microbiota of the aforementioned users, A questionnaire management unit presents the user with a questionnaire regarding the user's health status, obtains and records the user's response, A health status evaluation system comprising: an analysis processing unit that evaluates the user's health status based on the occupancy rate of bifidobacteria in the intestinal flora in the aforementioned test results and the responses to the aforementioned questionnaire.

2. In the health status evaluation system described in claim 1, The aforementioned testing management department obtains the test results regarding the intestinal microbiota before and after the user's continuous intake of a predetermined prebiotic and / or probiotic for a certain period of time. The aforementioned questionnaire management unit is a health status evaluation system that obtains responses to the aforementioned questionnaire regarding the health status of the user before and after the aforementioned continuous intake.

3. In the health status evaluation system described in claim 1, A health status evaluation system in which the analysis processing unit identifies a predetermined health status that correlates with the proportion of Bifidobacteria in the gut microbiota, based on the test results obtained by the test management unit regarding the gut microbiota of multiple users before and after continuous intake of predetermined prebiotics and / or probiotics for a certain period, and the responses to the questionnaire obtained by the questionnaire management unit regarding the health status of the multiple users before and after the continuous intake.

4. In the health status evaluation system described in claim 3, The analysis processing unit classifies the multiple users into one of three groups: a low-value group, an appropriate-value group, or a high-value group, based on whether the proportion of bifidobacteria in the intestinal microbiota in the test results obtained by the inspection management unit for the multiple users before continuous intake of predetermined prebiotics and / or probiotics for a certain period of time falls within a predetermined standard range, and identifies predetermined health conditions that show a correlation with the proportion of bifidobacteria in the intestinal microbiota of the users belonging to each group, based on the responses of the questionnaire regarding the health status of the users belonging to each group before and after continuous intake.

5. In the health status evaluation system described in claim 4, The analysis processing unit classifies the user into one of three groups: a low-value group, an appropriate-value group, or a high-value group, based on the percentage of bifidobacteria in the test results regarding the intestinal microbiota obtained by the test management unit, prior to the continuous intake of predetermined prebiotics and / or probiotics for a certain period of time by the user. The health status evaluation system then evaluates the predetermined health status of the user, which shows a correlation with the percentage of bifidobacteria in the intestinal microbiota of the group to which the user belongs.

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