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Updated: Dec 21, 2025
Oral Biofilm Sampling for Microbiome Analysis in Healthy Children
Published on: December 31, 2017
Breastfeeding may have a long-term effect on oral microbiota: results from the Fin-HIT cohort
Ilana Eshriqui1,2, Heli T Viljakainen3,4, Sandra R G Ferreira5
1Graduation Program in Public Health Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Insights
Early life feeding type, whether breastfeeding or formula, did not significantly alter overall oral microbiota diversity in adolescents. However, specific bacterial abundances differed based on infant feeding choices.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Human Health
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Infant feeding practices, including breastfeeding and formula use, are known to influence early gastrointestinal microbiota colonization.
- The long-term effects of these early feeding types on the oral microbiota composition in later life remain incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between infant feeding type (breastmilk/formula vs. no formula) during the first six months of life and oral microbiota composition in adolescence.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional sub-study of 423 adolescents from the Finnish Health in Teens (Fin-HIT) cohort was conducted.
- Parental recall was used to determine infant feeding type. Saliva microbiota was analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing.
- Statistical analyses included ANCOVA, PERMANOVA, and general linear models to compare diversity and bacterial abundance between feeding groups.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were observed in alpha or beta diversity of oral microbiota between adolescents fed exclusively breastmilk/formula and those not receiving formula.
- Specific Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) within the Eubacteria and Veillonella genera were found to be more abundant in the 'No formula' group compared to the 'Infant formula' group.
Conclusions:
- While certain bacterial abundances in the oral cavity of adolescents may be linked to early feeding type, overall oral microbiota diversity and composition are not significantly affected by feeding choices in the first six months of life.
Background:
Breastfeeding contributes to gastrointestinal microbiota colonization in early life, but its long-term impact is inconclusive. We aimed to evaluate whether the type of feeding during the first six months of life was associated with oral microbiota in adolescence.
Methods:
This is a cross-sectional sub-study using baseline information of 423 adolescents from the Finnish Health in Teens (Fin-HIT) cohort. Type of feeding was recalled by parents and dichotomized as (i) No infant formula; (ii) Infant formula (breastmilk + formula or only formula). Saliva microbiota was analysed using 16S rRNA (V3-V4) sequencing. Alpha diversity and beta diversity were compared between feeding type groups using ANCOVA and PERMANOVA, respectively. Differential bacteria abundance was tested using appropriate general linear models.
Results:
Mean age and body mass index were 11.7 years and 18.0 kg/m2, respectively. The No formula group contained 41% of the participants. Firmicutes (51.0%), Bacteroidetes (19.1%), and Proteobacteria (16.3%) were the most abundant phyla among all participants. Alpha and beta diversity indices did not differ between the two feeding groups. Three Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) belonging to Eubacteria and Veillonella genera (phylum Firmicutes) were more abundant in the No formula than in the Infant formula group (log2fold changes/ p - values - 0.920/ < 0.001, - 0.328/ 0.001, - 0.577/ 0.004).
Conclusion:
Differences exist in abundances of some OTUs in adolescence according to feeding type during the first six months of life, but our findings do not support diversity and overall oral microbiota composition in adolescents being affected by early feeding type.
