TABLE 1.
Characteristics of participating three-months-old infants by feeding mode.
| All study infants | Feeding mode at three months of age
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exclusively breastfed (n=146) | Partly breastfed (n=38) | Exclusively formula feed (n=23) | p-value | |
| Gender (% boys)1 | 50.0 | 39.5 | 47.8 | 0.512 |
| Age in months (mean (range))2 | 3.5 (2.4–5.5) | 3.7 (2.4–5.3) | 3.9 (2.8–5.1) | 0.468 |
| Vaginal delivery (% positive)1 | 82.2 | 76.3 | 73.9 | 0.523 |
| Weight (gram)2 | ||||
| at birth | 3,504 (3,414–3,594) | 3,486 (3,279–3,694) | 3,549 (3,299–3,800) | 0.913 |
| at 3 months of age | 6,177 (6,045–6,309) | 6,043 (5,770–6,316) | 6,738 (5,706–6,369) | 0.548 |
| Length (cm)2 | ||||
| at birth | 50.2 (49.8–50.6) | 49.9 (49.1–50.7) | 50.0 (49.0–51.0) | 0.741 |
| at 3 months of age | 60.8 (60.3–61.2) | 60.7 (59.9–61.6) | 60.8 (59.8–61,9) | 0.993 |
| Microbiology at 3 months of age | ||||
| Total viable count (mean and range ×1010)2 | 7.54 (7.47–7.61) | 7.55 (7.39–7.72) | 7.59 (7.39–7.78) | 0.879 |
| Total viable Lactobacillus count (% positive saliva samples)1 | 32.4 | 27.0 | 0.0 | 0.006 |
| L. gasseri by qPCR (% positive swab samples)1 | 23.03 | 38.94 | 13.35 | 0.080 |
| HOMIM selected infants (n) | n=44 | n=8 | n=21 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender (% boys)1 | 56.0 | 25.0 | 47.6 | 0.487 |
| Age in months (mean (range))2 | 3.4 (3.2–3.5) | 3.4 (2.7–3.9) | 3.7 (3.5–4.0) | 0.07 |
| Vaginal delivery (% positive)1 | 43.2 | 0.0 | 76.2 | 0.001 |
| Weight (gram)2 | ||||
| at birth | 3,480 (3,284–3,677) | 3,256 (2,642–3,870) | 3,633 (3,392–3,873) | 0.337 |
| at 3 month of age | 6,259 (5,998–6,540) | 5,787 (5,080–6,494) | 6,054 (5,699–6,401) | 0.308 |
| Length (cm)2 | ||||
| at birth | 50.3 (49.4–51.1) | 49.5 (46.3–50.7) | 50.2 (49.2–51.2) | 0,202 |
| at 3 month of age | 60.5 (59.7–61.3) | 59.7 (57.3–62.1) | 61.0 (59.9–62.1) | 0.506 |
| Microbiology at 3 months of age | ||||
| Total viable count (mean and range ×10×10)2 | 7.55 (7.42–7.68) | 7.91 (7.53–8.30) | 7.63 (7.43–7.83) | 0.09 |
| Total viable Lactobacillus count (% positive saliva samples)1 | 27.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0016 |
| L. gasseri by qPCR (% positive swab samples)1 | 19.57 | 37.58 | 14.39 | 0.2076 |
1
Differences between group numbers tested with Chi2 test.
2
Differences between group means tested with ANOVA (three groups) or t-test (two groups). If not stated otherwise data are presented as mean with 95% CI. Total bacteria are expressed as log10 values.
3
139/146 samples analysed
4
36/38 samples analysed
5
15/23 samples analysed
6
One-sided test based on the association in all infants.
7
41/44 samples analysed
8
8/8 samples analysed
9
14/21 samples analysed