The Human Microbiome and Child Growth – First 1000 Days and Beyond
Open accessAbstract
The assembly of microbial communities within the gastrointestinal tract during early life plays a critical role in immune, endocrine, metabolic, and other host developmental pathways. Environmental insults during this period, such as food insecurity and infections, can disrupt this optimal microbial succession, which may contribute to lifelong and intergenerational deficits in growth and development. Here, we review the human microbiome in the first 1000 days - referring to the period from conception to 2 years of age - and using a developmental model, we examine the role of early microbial succession in growth and development. We propose that an 'undernourished' microbiome is intergenerational, thereby perpetuating growth impairments into successive generations. We also identify and discuss the intertwining host-microbe-environment interactions occurring prenatally and during early infancy, which may impair the trajectories of healthy growth and development, and explore their potential as novel microbial targets for intervention.
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The impact of dysbiosis on the immune system is most critical during the first 1,000 days of life, between conception and the child's second birthday.
“The impact of dysbiosis on the immune system is perhaps most critical during the first 1,000 days of life; the time between conception and the child’s second birthday (Robertson et al., 2019).”
From Viral Infections, the Microbiome, and Probiotics (2021) · cites this paper as Robertson et al., 2019
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References 118 · Cited by 793
- Authors
- Robertson, R. C., Manges, A. R., Finlay, B. B., & Prendergast, A. J.
- Affiliations
- Queen Mary University of London (GB)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Robertson, Ruairi C.
- Venue
- Trends in Microbiology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-02
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 131-147
- ISSN
- 0966-842X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2898147830
- Cited by
- 793
- References
- 118
- Citations by year
- 2026: 86 · 2025: 120 · 2024: 111 · 2023: 121 · 2022: 118 · 2021: 119 · 2020: 85 · 2019: 31 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 5.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Trends in Microbiology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Queen Mary Research Online (Queen Mary University of London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Greater South Information System
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (108065/Z/15/Z, 206455/Z/17/Z)
- Medical Research Council (MR/M007367/1)
- 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 › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
- Keywords
- human microbiome, child growth, first 1000 days, gut microbiota, food insecurity, infection, infancy, growth and development
- MeSH terms
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Host Microbial Interactions, Bacteria, Child, Preschool, Environment, Female, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Infections, Pregnancy, Gastrointestinal Tract, Malnutrition, Growth and Development, Microbiota
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