Establishment of the intestinal microbiota and its role for atopic dermatitis in early childhood.

BACKGROUND

Perturbations in the intestinal microbiota may disrupt mechanisms involved in the development of immunologic tolerance. The present study aimed to examine the establishment of the infant microbiota and its association to the development of atopic dermatitis (AD).

METHODS

Within a randomized, placebo-controlled trial on the prevention of AD by oral supplementation of a bacterial lysate between week 5 and the end of month 7, feces was collected at the ages of 5 weeks (n = 571), 13 weeks (n = 332), and 31 weeks (n = 499) and subjected to quantitative PCRs to detect bifidobacteria, bacteroides, lactobacilli, Escherichia coli, Clostridium difficile, and Clostridium cluster I.

RESULTS

Birth mode, breast-feeding but also birth order had a strong effect on the microbiota composition. With increasing number of older siblings the colonization rates at age 5 weeks of lactobacilli (P < .001) and bacteroides (P = .02) increased, whereas rates of clostridia decreased (P < .001). Colonization with clostridia, at the age of 5 and 13 weeks was also associated with an increased risk of developing AD in the subsequent 6 months of life (odds ratioadjusted = 2.35; 95% CI, 1.36-3.94 and 2.51; 1.30-4.86, respectively). Mediation analyses demonstrated that there was a statistically significant indirect effect via Clostridium cluster I colonization for both birth mode and birth order in association to AD.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study are supportive for a role of the microbiota in the development of AD. Moreover, the "beneficial" influence of older siblings on the microbiota composition suggests that this microbiota may be one of the biological mechanisms underlying the sibling effect.