Fan Yuting, Bost Kelly F, Donovan Sharon M
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Human Development and Family Studies, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Nutrients. 2025 Jun 23;17(13):2080. doi: 10.3390/nu17132080.
Early childhood is a critical window of development, which is influenced by early life exposures including breastfeeding. Observational and preclinical studies have linked human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) with neurocognitive development. However, less attention has focused on behavioral outcomes including temperament and eating behaviors. Herein, we investigated the associations between HMO consumption and child temperament and child eating behaviors through four years of age. : Participants were drawn from the STRONG Kids 2 cohort. Human milk was collected at 6 weeks postpartum, and HMO relative abundances were determined by HPLC-MS. Using validated questionnaires, child temperament was assessed at 3, 18, and 48 months of age, and child eating behaviors were measured at 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 months of age. After adjusting for covariates, multiple linear regressions were carried out to assess the relationship between HMOs and the outcome measures. : The HMO profile of mothers showed two distinct clusters explained by maternal secretor status. Significant associations between HMO and surgency were only found in the full cohort and secretors, while more associations between HMO and negative affectivity were observed in non-secretors. A significant number of associations was observed between HMOs and child eating behaviors in full cohort, secretors, and non-secretors. HMO diversity, total fucosylation, and total sialylation were positively associated with food responsiveness, while neutral HMOs presented negative associations. However, these associations with food responsiveness were not observed in non-secretors. : HMO profiles were associated with behavioral outcomes in the children, with variations by child age and maternal secretor status, highlighting the potential role of HMOs within the broader context of maternal and postnatal influences.
幼儿期是发育的关键时期，受到包括母乳喂养在内的早期生活经历的影响。观察性研究和临床前研究已将人乳寡糖（HMOs）与神经认知发育联系起来。然而，较少有研究关注包括气质和饮食行为在内的行为结果。在此，我们调查了4岁前HMOs摄入量与儿童气质和儿童饮食行为之间的关联。：参与者来自STRONG Kids 2队列。产后6周收集母乳，并通过HPLC-MS测定HMOs的相对丰度。使用经过验证的问卷，在3、18和48个月龄时评估儿童气质，在12、18、24、36和48个月龄时测量儿童饮食行为。在调整协变量后，进行多元线性回归以评估HMOs与结果指标之间的关系。：母亲的HMO谱显示出由母亲分泌状态解释的两个不同聚类。仅在整个队列和分泌者中发现HMO与冲动性之间存在显著关联，而在非分泌者中观察到HMO与消极情感之间存在更多关联。在整个队列、分泌者和非分泌者中均观察到HMOs与儿童饮食行为之间存在大量关联。HMO多样性、总岩藻糖基化和总唾液酸化与食物反应性呈正相关，而中性HMOs呈负相关。然而，在非分泌者中未观察到这些与食物反应性的关联。：HMO谱与儿童的行为结果相关，因儿童年龄和母亲分泌状态而异，突出了HMOs在更广泛的母体和产后影响背景下的潜在作用。
