The Premature Human Microbiome Is Influenced by Joint Effects of Pregnancy, Sociocultural and Environmental Factors
The diversity of microorganisms which particularly colonize the human intestine significantly influences how well an organism can process micronutrients from food and how resistant it is to diseases. The course of these mechanisims is set during pregnancy and in the first months of the child’s life.
US scientists analyzed the intestinal flora of 130 newborns and 168 infants from Detroit. Approximately one-fifth of the differences found could be explained by the influence of 17 external factors (1). The ethnic origin and family status of the mother, her smoking habits, breastfeeding, the type of birth as well as the domestic animals of the household were particularly influential. Patterns from the interplay of these contributing factors remained almost the same among the neonates during the first months of life.
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(1) AM Levin et al. Joint effects of pregnancy, sociocultural, and environmental factors on early life gut microbiome structure and diversity. Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 31775 (2016). doi: 10.1038/srep31775, available via https://www.nature.com/articles/srep31775
(2) ibidem, Figure 7, Network of factors demonstrating shared impact on gut microbial composition, among neonates