Neonatal gut microbiota and risk of developing food sensitization and allergy

Food sensitization (FS) develops in early infancy and is a risk factor for subsequent food allergy (FA). Recent evidence suggests relationships of gut microbiota with FS and FA. However, little is known about the role of neonatal gut microbiota in the pathobiology of these manifestations.

We sought to characterize gut microbiota in children using an enterotyping approach and determine the association of gut microbiota and the enterotypes with the development of FS and FA.

We combined gut microbiome and fecal short-chain fatty acid data from 2 longitudinal birth-cohort studies in Japan, clustered the microbiome data from children who were 1 week to 7 years old and their mothers and identified enterotypes. We also determined the associations of gut microbiota and enterotypes with risks of developing FS and FA across the 2 studies using multivariable regression models.

Data from the 2563 microbiomes identified 6 enterotypes. More gut bacteria (eg, Bifidobacterium) in 1-month-old children showed significant relationships with the development of FS and FA than in 1-week-old children. Enterotypes at 1 month old consisted of Bacteroides-dominant, Klebsiella-dominant, and Bifidobacterium-dominant enterotypes. Bifidobacterium-dominant enterotypes with the highest fecal propionate concentration had the lowest risks of developing FS and FA, especially of hen egg white sensitization. Bifidobacterium-dominant enterotypes had lower risks at 2 years old in one study (vs Bacteroides-dominant enterotype, adjusted odds ratio [adjOR]: 0.10, 95% CI: 0.01-0.78; vs Klebsiella-dominant enterotype, adjOR: 0.10, 95% CI: 0.01-0.77) and at 9 months old in the other study (vs Bacteroides-dominant enterotype, adjOR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.11-0.91).

In these birth-cohort studies, gut microbiome clustering identified distinct neonatal enterotypes with differential risks of developing FS and FA.