Gut microbiota composition during infancy and subsequent behavioural outcomes
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Despite intense interest in the relationship between gut microbiota and brain development, longitudinal data from human studies are lacking. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the composition of gut microbiota during infancy and subsequent behavioural outcomes. METHODS: A subcohort of 201 children with behavioural outcome measures was identified within a longitudinal, Australian birth-cohort study. The faecal microbiota were analysed at 1, 6, and 12 months of age. Behavioural outcomes were measured at 2 years of age. FINDINGS: In an unselected birth cohort, we found a clear association between decreased normalised abundance of Prevotella in faecal samples collected at 12 months of age and increased behavioural problems at 2 years, in particular Internalizing Problem scores. This association appeared independent of multiple potentially confounding variables, including maternal mental health. Recent exposure to antibiotics was the best predictor of decreased Prevotella. INTERPRETATION: Our findings demonstrate a strong association between the composition of the gut microbiota in infancy and subsequent behavioural outcomes; and support the importance of responsible use of antibiotics during early life. FUNDING: This study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (1082307, 1147980, 1129813), The Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Barwon Health, Deakin University, Perpetual Trustees, and The Shepherd Foundation. The funders had no involvement in the data collection, analysis or interpretation, trial design, recruitment or any other aspect pertinent to the study.
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Although human data are limited to date, the relative abundance of dietary fiber-linked Prevotella in infants at 12 months was recently associated with child behavioral dysregulation at 2 years of age.
“Although human data are limited to date, the relative abundance of the dietary fiber-linked Prevotella in infants at 12 mo was recently associated with child behavioral dysregulation at 2 y of age (269).”
From Diet and the Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis: Sowing the Seeds of Good Mental Health (2021) · cites this paper as [269]
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References 32 · Cited by 120
- Authors
- Loughman, A., Ponsonby, A.-L., O'Hely, M., Symeonides, C., Collier, F., Tang, M. L. K., Carlin, J., Ranganathan, S., Allen, K., Pezic, A., Saffery, R., Jacka, F., Harrison, L. C., Sly, P. D., & Vuillermin, P.
- Affiliations
- Deakin University (AU)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Royal Children's Hospital (AU)
- Barwon Health (AU)
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute (AU)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Vuillermin, Peter
- ORCID
- Venue
- EBioMedicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-02
- Volume
- 52
- Pages
- 102640
- ISSN
- 2352-3964 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7016366
- OpenAlex
- W3006075899
- Cited by
- 120
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 6
- FWCI
- 5.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- erratum (2021-04-01)
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- EBioMedicine (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Bank for International Settlements
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute
- Allergan
- Deakin University
- National Health and Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Infant Nutrition and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
- Keywords
- gut microbiota, infancy, behavioral problems, internalizing problems, Prevotella, fecal microbiota, antibiotic exposure, early life, brain development, child development, birth cohort
- MeSH terms
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Adult, Age Factors, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Australia, Brain, Child, Child Behavior, Child, Preschool, Feces, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Risk Factors, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Cohort Studies, Infant Behavior, Biodiversity, Metagenome, Neurogenesis, Metagenomics
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