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Child Weight Gain Trajectories Linked To Oral Microbiota Composition

Sarah J C Craig1,2, Daniel Blankenberg3,4, Alice Carla Luisa Parodi5

  • 1Center for Medical Genomics, Penn State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.

Scientific Reports
|September 21, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Early life gut and oral microbiota may predict rapid infant weight gain. By age two, oral microbiota diversity was lower in faster-growing children, suggesting potential obesity risk factors emerge early.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Pediatrics
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Microbiota alterations are linked to obesity in adults and adolescents.
  • The role of gut and oral microbiota in early childhood weight gain is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between gut and oral microbiota composition and growth patterns in two-year-old children.
  • To identify microbial signatures related to rapid infant weight gain, a precursor to childhood obesity.

Main Methods:

  • 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to analyze the gut and oral microbiota of 226 two-year-olds.
  • Child growth was tracked over seven time points, with growth curves derived using Functional Data Analysis (FDA).
  • Dietary intake was controlled for in the analysis of gut microbiota associations.

Main Results:

  • Oral microbiota diversity was negatively associated with growth curves, while the Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio was positively associated.
  • Gut microbiota showed associations with child growth, independent of diet.
  • Specific bacterial genera were identified as correlates of distinct child growth patterns.

Conclusions:

  • Oral microbiota patterns associated with rapid infant weight gain may emerge by age two, mirroring those seen in obese adults.
  • Gut microbiota at age two, though diet-influenced, did not exhibit the obesity-related signatures observed in later life stages.

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