TABLE 2.
Infant gut microbiota characteristics by intervention group at 1 mo, 6 mo, 12 mo, 18 mo, and 30 mo1
| Microbiota characteristics | Time | IFA + MMN | LNS | IFA + MMN compared with LNS | P 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shannon diversity index | 1 mo | 0.88 ± 0.60 (225)3 | 0.99 ± 0.53 (106) | 0.10 (−0.03, 0.22) | 0.12 |
| 6 mo | 1.60 ± 0.66 (347) | 1.59 ± 0.69 (168) | −0.01 (−0.11, 0.10) | 0.86 | |
| 12 mo | 2.39 ± 0.65 (419) | 2.45 ± 0.72 (211) | 0.01 (−0.10, 0.12) | 0.90 | |
| 18 mo | 2.91 ± 0.60 (414) | 3.01 ± 0.57 (208) | 0.11 (0.01, 0.21) | 0.03 | |
| 30 mo | 3.51 ± 0.47 (382) | 3.58 ± 0.43 (193) | 0.07 (−0.00, 0.14) | 0.06 | |
| Pielou's evenness function | 1 mo | 0.25 ± 0.13 (225) | 0.26 ± 0.13 (106) | 0.01 (−0.01, 0.04) | 0.32 |
| 6 mo | 0.39 ± 0.12 (347) | 0.39 ± 0.12 (168) | 0.00 (−0.03, 0.02) | 0.76 | |
| 12 mo | 0.52 ± 0.11 (413) | 0.53 ± 0.12 (206) | 0.00 (−0.02, 0.02) | 0.83 | |
| 18 mo | 0.60 ± 0.09 (414) | 0.61 ± 0.08 (208) | 0.02 (0.00, 0.03) | 0.04 | |
| 30 mo | 0.66 ± 0.06 (378) | 0.67 ± 0.05 (192) | 0.01 (−0.01, 0.02) | 0.10 | |
| Faith's phylogenetic diversity | 1 mo | 6.45 ± 1.86 (225) | 6.79 ± 1.93 (106) | 0.34 (−0.10, 0.77) | 0.13 |
| 6 mo | 11.15 ± 4.80 (347) | 11.24 ± 5.17 (168) | 0.00 (−0.82, 1.00) | 0.84 | |
| 12 mo | 16.33 ± 5.30 (404) | 16.41 ± 5.58 (198) | 0.09 (−0.79, 1.02) | 0.85 | |
| 18 mo | 21.30 ± 6.67 (414) | 22.06 ± 7.05 (208) | 0.76 (−0.38, 1.89) | 0.19 | |
| 30 mo | 30.75 ± 7.85 (378) | 31.28 ± 6.90 (192) | 0.67 (−0.78,1.84) | 0.43 | |
| Species richness | 1 mo | 32.5 ± 10.9 (225) | 34.8 ± 12.6(106) | 2.22 (−0.44, 4.87) | 0.10 |
| 6 mo | 60.3 ± 25.3 (347) | 59.4 ± 24.0 (168) | −0.84 (−5.43, 3.76) | 0.72 | |
| 12 mo | 97.8 ± 39.3 (414) | 98.0 ± 40.4 (206) | 0.18 (−6.47, 6.83) | 0.96 | |
| 18 mo | 134.9 ± 51.6 (414) | 142.9 ± 55.4 (208) | 7.97 (−0.85, 16.79) | 0.08 | |
| 30 mo | 214.4 ± 60.9 (378) | 219.8 ± 54.7 (192) | 5.39 (−4.86, 15.64) | 0.30 | |
| MAZ4 | 1 mo | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| 6 mo | 0.63 ± 2.39 (347) | 0.40 ± 2.47 (168) | −0.23 (−0.66, 0.20) | 0.30 | |
| 12 mo | −0.33 ± 2.52 (419) | −0.27 ± 2.80 (211) | 0.06 (−0.36, 0.49) | 0.77 | |
| 18 mo | −1.37 ± 1.70 (414) | −1.27 ± 1.81 (208) | 0.10 (−0.19, 0.39) | 0.49 | |
| 30 mo | −3.70 ± 2.37 (382) | −3.50 ± 2.43 (193) | 0.19 (−0.21, 0.62) | 0.35 |
1
Values are means ± SDs (n) or mean differences (95% CI). IFA + MMN, iron and folic acid + multiple micronutrients; LNS, lipid-based nutrient supplement; MAZ, microbiota-for-age z score; NA, not applicable.
2
P values obtained from ANCOVA.
3
Number of infants at each sampling time point stratified by intervention group.
4
No data for the calculation of MAZ were available at 1 mo.