Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
Division of Biostatistics, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
mSphere. 2020 Sep 23;5(5):e00731-20. doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00731-20.
In this cross-sectional study, we describe the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota among undernourished children living in urban slums of Mumbai, India, and determine how nutritional status, including anthropometric measurements, dietary intakes from complementary foods, feeding practices, and micronutrient concentrations, is associated with their gut microbiota. We collected rectal swabs from children aged 10 to 18 months living in urban slums of Mumbai participating in a randomized controlled feeding trial and conducted 16S rRNA sequencing to determine the composition of the gut microbiota. Across the study cohort, dominated the gut microbiota at over 80% relative abundance, with representation at <4%, suggesting immaturity of the gut. Increased microbial α-diversity was associated with current breastfeeding, greater head circumference, higher fat intake, and lower hemoglobin concentration and weight-for-length Z-score. In redundancy analyses, 47% of the variation in Faith's phylogenetic diversity (Faith's PD) could be accounted for by age and by iron and polyunsaturated fatty acid intakes. Differences in community structure (β-diversity) of the microbiota were observed among those consuming fats and oils the previous day compared to those not consuming fats and oils the previous day. Our findings suggest that growth, diet, and feeding practices are associated with gut microbiota metrics in undernourished children, whose gut microbiota were comprised mainly of , a phylum containing many potentially pathogenic taxa. The impact of comprehensive nutritional status, defined as growth, nutritional blood biomarkers, dietary intakes, and feeding practices, on the gut microbiome in children living in low-resource settings has remained underreported in microbiome research. Among undernourished children living in urban slums of Mumbai, India, we observed a high relative abundance of , a phylum including many potentially pathogenic species similar to the composition in preterm infants, suggesting immaturity of the gut, or potentially a high inflammatory burden. We found head circumference, fat and iron intake, and current breastfeeding were positively associated with microbial diversity, while hemoglobin and weight for length were associated with lower diversity. Findings suggest that examining comprehensive nutrition is critical to gain more understanding of how nutrition and the gut microbiota are linked, particularly in vulnerable populations such as children in urban slum settings.
在这项横断面研究中，我们描述了生活在印度孟买市区贫民窟的营养不良儿童的肠道微生物群落组成和多样性，并确定了营养状况（包括人体测量指标、补充食物的摄入量、喂养方式和微量营养素浓度）如何与他们的肠道微生物群落相关。我们从参加随机对照喂养试验的 10 至 18 个月大的生活在孟买市区贫民窟的儿童中收集直肠拭子，并进行 16S rRNA 测序以确定肠道微生物群落的组成。在整个研究队列中， 占肠道微生物群落的 80%以上， 代表不到 4%，表明肠道不成熟。微生物 α-多样性的增加与当前母乳喂养、更大的头围、更高的脂肪摄入量以及更低的血红蛋白浓度和体重长度 Z 评分有关。在冗余分析中，Faith 系统发育多样性（Faith's PD）的 47%可以通过年龄和铁与多不饱和脂肪酸的摄入量来解释。在前一天摄入脂肪和油的人群与前一天不摄入脂肪和油的人群的肠道微生物群落结构（β-多样性）存在差异。我们的研究结果表明，生长、饮食和喂养方式与营养不良儿童的肠道微生物群落指标有关，他们的肠道微生物群落主要由 组成，这一菌门包含许多潜在的致病类群。全面营养状况（定义为生长、营养血液生物标志物、饮食摄入和喂养方式）对生活在资源匮乏环境中的儿童肠道微生物组的影响在微生物组研究中报道较少。在生活在印度孟买市区贫民窟的营养不良儿童中，我们观察到相对较高的 丰度，这一菌门包括许多类似早产儿的潜在致病物种，表明肠道不成熟，或潜在炎症负担高。我们发现头围、脂肪和铁的摄入量以及当前的母乳喂养与微生物多样性呈正相关，而血红蛋白和体重与长度与多样性呈负相关。研究结果表明，检查全面的营养状况对于更深入地了解营养和肠道微生物群之间的关系至关重要，特别是在脆弱人群中，如城市贫民窟的儿童。
