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Published on: August 7, 2017
The relationship between the early-life gastrointestinal microbiome and childhood nocturnal cough
Amy A Eapen1, Tengfei Ma2, Alexandra R Sitarik3
1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, Mich; Department of Public Health Sciences, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, Mich.
Insights
The early gut microbiome in infants is linked to nocturnal cough, with specific microbial differences observed in children who develop asthma. These findings suggest the gut microbiome may aid in identifying children at risk for persistent cough.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Microbiome Research
- Respiratory Medicine
Background:
- Nocturnal cough affects a third of children and is often linked to asthma.
- The relationship between the gut microbiome and nocturnal cough in children is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between early-life gut microbiome composition and nocturnal cough.
- To examine this association in the context of childhood asthma.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed gut microbiota from 512 children at 1 and 6 months using 16S rRNA sequencing.
- Assessed nocturnal cough and asthma diagnosis at age 4 years.
- Employed microbiome regression-based kernel association tests (MiRKAT) and negative binomial regression.
Main Results:
- Infant gut microbial composition differences were associated with nocturnal cough (P = .045).
- 78 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) significantly correlated with nocturnal cough overall.
- 110 OTUs showed significant interaction with asthma status, with Lachnospiraceae genera Blautia and Dorea being predominant.
Conclusions:
- Infantile gut microbiome development is associated with nocturnal cough and asthma status by age 4.
- Further research is warranted to explore the gut microbiome's role in early identification of children at risk for nocturnal cough.
- The gut microbiome may offer insights for predicting cough risk, with or without asthma.
Background:
Nocturnal cough affects approximately 1 in 3 children, can negatively affect child health, and is often attributable to asthma. The association of the gut microbiome with nocturnal cough has not been investigated.
Objective:
We investigated the association between early-life gut microbiome composition and nocturnal cough overall and in the context of asthma.
Methods:
Gut microbiota 1-month (neonate) and 6-month (infant) specimens from 512 children in the Wayne County, Health, Environment, Allergy, and Asthma Longitudinal Study were profiled using 16S ribosomal RNA V4 sequencing. Nocturnal cough (parental report) and asthma (parent-reported doctor's diagnosis) were assessed at age 4 years. Microbiome regression-based kernel association tests (MiRKAT) were used to assess the relationship between gut microbiota composition and nocturnal cough overall and in the context of asthma. Operational taxonomic unit (OTU) associations were conducted using negative binomial regression, adjusting for multiple comparisons using the false discovery rate.
Results:
Stool microbial composition differences during infancy were associated with nocturnal cough (weighted UniFrac P = .045); 78 OTUs were significantly associated with nocturnal cough overall (false discovery rate < 0.05); and 110 OTUs were significantly associated with nocturnal cough and differed by asthma status (interaction false discovery rate < 0.05), with a predominance of Lachnospiraceae genera Blautia and Dorea. Thirty-two OTU were identified as having both overall effects and differences by asthma status. Among OTUs with significant nocturnal cough-by-asthma interactions, 84 retained significance in children with asthma, with 45 exclusive to those with asthma (predominance of Bacteroidaceae genus Bacteroides and Lachnospiraceae genus Dorea).
Conclusion:
Infantile gut microbiome development is associated with nocturnal cough and differed by asthma status by age 4 years. Further studies are needed to determine if the gut microbiome may provide additional information for the early identification of children at risk for nocturnal cough, with and without asthma.
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