Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Institute of Human Nutrition, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Nutrients. 2022 Jun 10;14(12):2412. doi: 10.3390/nu14122412.
Background: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), microbial metabolites, have been minimally studied in neonatal pathophysiology but have been associated with disease outcomes in adults. The objective of this manuscript was to determine if SCFA levels in maternal breastmilk (BM) and stool from preterm neonates impacted the risk of neonatal morbidities. Methods: SCFA levels were quantified by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry on maternal BM and neonatal stool for preterm infants < 28 weeks’ gestation (N = 72) on postnatal days 14 and 28. SCFA levels in BM and stool of infants with and without bronchopulmonary disease (BPD) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) were compared. Logistic regression was applied to determine the association between stool acetic acid levels and disease. Results: Acetic, propionic, isobutyric, 2-methylbutyric, and isovaleric acid levels increased in BM and neonatal stool between days 14 and 28. Logistic regression demonstrated an inverse relationship between the quartile of fecal acetic acid level and the odds of BPD but not ROP on days 14 and 28. For each quartile increase in fecal acetic acid, the odds ratio (95% CI) of BPD was 0.41 (0.18, 0.83) for day 14 and 0.28 (0.09, 0.64) for day 28. Conclusions: Low acetic acid levels in the stool of preterm infants are associated with increased odds of BPD. These findings support a relationship between intestinal and pulmonary health in preterm infants.
短链脂肪酸（SCFAs）是微生物代谢产物，在新生儿病理生理学中的研究较少，但与成人疾病结局有关。本研究旨在确定早产儿母亲母乳（BM）和粪便中的 SCFA 水平是否影响新生儿发病率的风险。
对<28 周胎龄（N = 72）的早产儿在生后第 14 天和第 28 天的母乳和新生儿粪便中通过液相色谱-串联质谱法定量 SCFA 水平。比较有和无支气管肺发育不良（BPD）和早产儿视网膜病变（ROP）的婴儿 BM 和粪便中的 SCFA 水平。应用逻辑回归确定粪便乙酸水平与疾病之间的关系。
生后第 14 天至第 28 天，母乳和新生儿粪便中的乙酸、丙酸、异丁酸、2-甲基丁酸和异戊酸水平均升高。逻辑回归显示，粪便乙酸水平四分位间距与 BPD 的 odds 呈反比，但与 ROP 无关，在第 14 天和第 28 天均如此。粪便乙酸每增加一个四分位间距，BPD 的比值比（95%CI）为 0.41（0.18，0.83），第 14 天为 0.28（0.09，0.64）。
早产儿粪便中乙酸水平较低与 BPD 的 odds 增加相关。这些发现支持早产儿肠道和肺部健康之间的关系。
