Association between gut microbiota development and allergy in infants born during pandemic-related social distancing restrictions
Background: Several hypotheses link reduced microbial exposure to increased prevalence of allergies. Here we capitalize on the opportunity to study a cohort of infants (CORAL), raised during COVID-19 associated social distancing measures, to identify the environmental exposures and dietary factors that contribute to early life microbiota development and to examine their associations with allergic outcomes.
Methods: Fecal samples were sequenced from infants at 6 (n = 351) and repeated at 12 (n = 343) months, using 16S sequencing. Published 16S data from pre-pandemic cohorts were included for microbiota comparisons. Online questionnaires collected epidemiological information on home environment, healthcare utilization, infant health, allergic diseases, and diet. Skin prick testing (SPT) was performed at 12 (n = 343) and 24 (n = 320) months of age, accompanied by atopic dermatitis and food allergy assessments.
Results: The relative abundance of bifidobacteria was higher, while environmentally transmitted bacteria such as Clostridia was lower in CORAL infants compared to previous cohorts. The abundance of multiple Clostridia taxa correlated with a microbial exposure index. Plant based foods during weaning positively impacted microbiota development. Bifidobacteria levels at 6 months of age, and relative abundance of butyrate producers at 12 months of age, were negatively associated with AD and SPT positivity. The prevalence of allergen sensitization, food allergy, and AD did not increase over pre-pandemic levels.
Conclusions: Environmental exposures and dietary components significantly impact microbiota community assembly. Our results also suggest that vertically transmitted bacteria and appropriate dietary supports may be more important than exposure to environmental microbes alone for protection against allergic diseases in infancy.
Funding
Science Foundation Ireland research center grant 12/RC/2273_P2
Childrens Health Ireland
Open access funding provided by IReL.
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Temple Street Hospital Foundation in Dublin, Ireland (Approval number RPAC 20-02)
Clemens Von Pirquet Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland
Science Foundation Ireland Frontiers for the Future Award 21/FFP- A/10000
History
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in NCBI at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=corona virus, reference number PRJNA1061451.Comments
The original article is available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/Published Citation
Korpela K, et al. Association between gut microbiota development and allergy in infants born during pandemic-related social distancing restrictions. Allergy. 2024Publication Date
29 February 2024External DOI
Department/Unit
- Paediatrics
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, IncVersion
- Published Version (Version of Record)