Affiliation:
1. College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
2. Center for Health Through Microbiomes, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
3. Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Abstract
This study examines how feeding, sleep, and growth during infancy impact the gut microbiome (GM) in toddlers. The research was conducted on toddlers (n = 36), born to Latina women of low-income with obesity. Their mothers completed retrospective feeding and sleeping questionnaires at 1, 6, and 12 months; at 36 months, fecal samples were collected. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene (V4 region) revealed that breastfeeding for at least 1 month and the introduction of solids before 6 months differentiated the GM in toddlerhood (Bray–Curtis, pseudo-F = 1.805, p = 0.018, and pseudo-F = 1.651, p = 0.044, respectively). Sleep had an effect across time; at 1 and 6 months of age, a lower proportion of nighttime sleep (relative to 24 h total sleep) was associated with a richer GM at three years of age (Shannon H = 4.395, p = 0.036 and OTU H = 5.559, p = 0.018, respectively). Toddlers experiencing rapid weight gain from birth to 6 months had lower phylogenetic diversity (Faith PD H = 3.633, p = 0.057). These findings suggest that early life nutrition, sleeping patterns, and growth rate in infancy may influence the GM composition. Further verification of these results with objective sleep data and a larger sample is needed.
Funder
National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
National Institute Of Diabetes And Digestive And Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health