The microbiome in the stool of the newborn can predict the risk of weight problems before the age of 3 years



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Bacteria found in the first poop of a newborn could determine the risk of obesity later in life. The researchers also discovered that the use of antibiotics during pregnancy could alter the composition of the microbiome responsible for a range of health problems. ( Mayo Clinic )

Doctors in Finland say they can determine if a baby is likely to become obese by looking at his poop.

The study, presented this year at the European Congress on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, revealed that the first stool of a newborn, called meconium, contains bacteria that indicate what is known about the disease. they have ingested in the womb of the mother.

The research is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Marker of obesity

A team of researchers from the University of Oulu in Finland followed 212 babies for three years. They examined their meconiums to identify types of pre- and postnatal bacteria. Follow-up stool samples were collected in the first year.

The team measured the height and weight of the children as they reached the age of 3. They found that overweight people had a higher abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes (29%) compared to those who did not have one (15%). Relative abundance of proteobacteria was relatively lower in children (19% vs. 35% in normal weight children).

"The microbiome of the first stool, formed in utero during the fetal period, was badociated with overweight at the age of three," said Dr. Katja Korpela, lead author of the unit. PEDEGO Research Center and Oulu Medical Research Center.

Stool collected at one year of age did not have the same bacterial composition.

Interestingly, infants who received doses of antibiotics during their first year had fewer actinobacteria than those who had been exposed shortly after birth.

This has shown that exposure to antibiotics or antimicrobials has lasting effects on the population of intestinal bacteria during the first year of life.

Importance of intestinal bacteria

The microbiome is the population of a variety of bacteria in the gut including viruses, fungi and other organisms. The microbiome is responsible for the proper maturation of the intestine. It is also linked to global mental health, obesity, heart disease and cancer.

A study recently published in the International Journal of Epidemiology reported that antibiotics taken during pregnancy increased the risk of serious infection of the child during the first six years of life.

The risk was higher when mothers received antibiotics shortly before their delivery date. Children, whose mothers had a history of prenatal antibiotics, badlly delivered babies had an increased risk of infections.

Various studies have also linked the use of antibiotics to various health problems, including obesity, asthma and gastrointestinal diseases such as Crohn's disease, celiac disease and cancer of the intestine.

Global consumption of antibiotics is expected to triple by 2030, according to a new badessment of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Experts urged to reduce the use of antibiotics without restrictions or risks of generations of chronic diseases.

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