Table 2 Characteristics of the participants in this study.
| Conventional subcohort, n = 652* | Alternative subcohort, n = 305* | |
|---|---|---|
| Prevalence of colonisation with intestinal bacteria, % | ||
| Bifidobacteria | 98.3 | 99.7 |
| Escherichia coli | 89.5 | 86.6 |
| Clostridium difficile | 24.7 | 25.9 |
| Bacteroides fragilis group | 83.0 | 78.7 |
| Lactobacilli | 33.1 | 30.2 |
| Counts of intestinal bacteria (log10 CFU/g), median (range) | ||
| Bifidobacteria | 10.71 (6.84–11.56) | 10.68 (6.85–11.49) |
| Escherichia coli | 9.45 (5.91–10.79) | 9.12 (5.92–10.62) |
| Clostridium difficile | 5.12 (2.70–8.41) | 5.70 (2.85–8.81) |
| Bacteroides fragilis group | 9.40 (5.74–10.36) | 9.07 (5.79–10.33) |
| Lactobacilli | 8.70 (7.92–10.73) | 8.58 (7.95–10.33) |
| Total counts | 11.15 (9.43–12.14) | 11.08 (9.58–11.98) |
| Age at collection of faecal sample (days), mean (SD) | 31.60 (3.28) | 31.75 (3.31) |
| Parental history of atopic manifestations, % | ||
| At least one parent with atopy | 54.8 | 51.8 |
| Sibling history of atopic manifestations, % | ||
| No siblings | 43.7 | 32.8 |
| ⩾1 siblings, non‐atopic | 40.5 | 46.2 |
| ⩾1 siblings, at least one atopic | 15.6 | 21.0 |
| Sex of infant (boys, percentage) | 49.4 | 53.4 |
| Maternal probiotic use, %† | ||
| Never/sporadic | 78.5 | 79.9 |
| Several times a month | 9.5 | 9.8 |
| Several times a week | 6.7 | 6.2 |
| Daily | 1.4 | 3.0 |
| Place and mode of delivery, % | ||
| Natural delivery at home | 44.0 | 53.8 |
| Natural delivery in hospital | 34.8 | 29.2 |
| Artificial delivery in hospital‡ | 7.5 | 6.9 |
| Caesarean section in hospital | 10.7 | 9.5 |
| Type of infant feeding, % | ||
| Exclusively breast‐fed | 58.3 | 87.9 |
| Exclusively formula‐fed | 29.4 | 7.2 |
| Combination | 12.0 | 4.9 |
| Infants with atopic outcome at age 2 years, % | ||
| Eczema | 32.8 | 31.7 |
| Recurrent wheeze | 12.8 | 6.3 |
| Sensitisation§ | 29.9 | 25.0 |
| Total IgE, median (range)¶ | 10.0 (⩽0.5–5300.0) | 16.5 (⩽0.5–3700.0) |
*Overall numbers are not always 652 for the conventional subcohort and 305 for the alternative subcohort due to missing bacterial count data or outcome data; †consumed during the last month of pregnancy; ‡forceps or vacuum extraction; §only available for those infants visited at home, total numbers are 391 for conventional subcohort and 192 for alternative subcohort; ¶only available for those infants visited at home, total numbers are 396 for conventional subcohort and 194 for alternative subcohort.