Table 1.
Summary of studies on associations between early-life gut microbiota and infant weight development or childhood overweight and obesity.
| Study | Country | Sample size | Age at collection of faecal sampling (d=day; w=week; m=month) | Age at assessment of adiposity (final time point; y=year) | Key findings on the gut microbiota | Potential confounders | References (PMID) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalliomäki et al. | Finland | 49 | 6m-12m | 7y | Increased bifidobacteria in children remaining normal weight; increased Staphylococcus aureus in children developing overweight. | Maternal BMI, IAP, CS type | 18326589 |
| Vael et al. | Belgium | 138 | 3w-52w | 3y | Increased Bacteroides fragilis and decreased Staphylococcus associated with obesity later in childhood. | IAP | 21605455 |
| Luoto et al. | Finland | 30 | 3m | 10y | Increased bifidobacteria in children remaining normal weight (non-significant; P=0.087). | IAP, CS type | 21150648 |
| White et al. | Norway | 218 | 4d-120d | 0•5y | Developmental trajectories of Staphylococcus species and Escherichia coli associated with expected growth; presence of Bacteroides spp. at one month associated with growth. | - | 23671411 |
| Scheepers et al. | The Netherlands | 909 | 1m | 10y | Presence of Bacteroides fragilis group at one month associated with a higher BMI later in childhood. | - | 25298274 |
| Dogra et al. | Singapore | 75 | 6m | 1•5y | Infants who acquired a profile high in Bifidobacterium and Collinsella, and low in Enterobacteriaceae at a later age associated with lower adiposity at 18 months of age. | Ethnicity, antibiotics, CS type | 25650398 |
| Korpela et al. | The Netherlands & Finland | 162 | 3m | 5-6y | At three months of age, Bifidobaterium spp. negatively and streptococci positively associated with BMI at five to six years. | - | 28253911 |
| Forbes et al. | Canada | 1087 | 3m-4m | 1y | Longitudinal associations between the composition of gut microbiota at three to four months of age and weight status at one year of age. | - | 29868719 |
| Stanislawski et al. | Norway | 165 | 10d-730d | 12y | Over 50% of the variation in obesity at 12 years of age explained by the pattern of types of gut microbiota at two years of age. | CS type | 30352933 |
| Korpela et al. | Finland | 212 | <1d | 3y | Increased Bacteroides fragilis in the meconium associated with overweight at the age of three years. | Maternal BMI, CS type | 32638554 |
BMI: body mass index; IAP: intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis; CS: caesarean section.