Year Published: 2021
Journal
Gastroenterology
Authors
Hein M Tun, Ye Peng, Bolin Chen, Theodore B Konya, Nadia P Morales-Lizcano, Radha Chari, Catherine J Field, David S Guttman, Allan B Becker, Piush J Mandhane , Theo J Moraes, Malcolm R Sears, Stuart E Turvey, Padmaja Subbarao, Elinor Simons, James A Scott, Anita L Kozyrskyj
Methods
Background (from article) Increasing evidence supports the role of early-life gut microbiota in developing atopic diseases, but ecological changes to gut microbiota during infancy in relation to food sensitization remain unclear. We aimed to characterize and associate these changes with the development of food sensitization in children.
Key Findings
The trajectory with persistently-low Bacteroides abundance and high Enterobacteriaceae/Bacteroidaceae ratio throughout infancy increased the risk of sensitization to food allergens, particularly peanut at age 3 years by 3-fold; a much higher likelihood for peanut sensitization was found if infants with this trajectory were born to Asian mothers. This study documented an association between persistently-low gut Bacteroides abundance throughout infancy and sensitization to peanut in childhood. It is the first to show a mediation role for infant gut microbiota in ethnicity-associated development of food sensitization.