Human milk oligosaccharide profiles and allergic disease up to 18 years

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) are a diverse range of sugars secreted in breast milk that have direct and indirect effects on immunity. The profiles of HMOs produced differ between mothers.

We sought to determine the relationship between maternal HMO profiles and offspring allergic diseases up to age 18 years.

Colostrum and early lactation milk samples were collected from 285 mothers enrolled in a high-allergy-risk birth cohort, the Melbourne Atopy Cohort Study. Nineteen HMOs were measured. Profiles/patterns of maternal HMOs were determined using LCA. Details of allergic disease outcomes including sensitization, wheeze, asthma, and eczema were collected at multiple follow-ups up to age 18 years. Adjusted logistic regression analyses and generalized estimating equations were used to determine the relationship between HMO profiles and allergy.

The levels of several HMOs were highly correlated with each other. LCA determined 7 distinct maternal milk profiles with memberships of 10% and 20%. Compared with offspring exposed to the neutral Lewis HMO profile, exposure to acidic Lewis HMOs was associated with a higher risk of allergic disease and asthma over childhood (odds ratio asthma at 18 years, 5.82; 95% CI, 1.59-21.23), whereas exposure to the acidic-predominant profile was associated with a reduced risk of food sensitization (OR at 12 years, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.01-0.67).

In this high-allergy-risk birth cohort, some profiles of HMOs were associated with increased and some with decreased allergic disease risks over childhood. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and realize the potential for intervention.