Probiotic supplementation and associated infant gut microbiome and health: a cautionary retrospective clinical comparison

While probiotics are a multi-billion dollar industry, there is little evidence to show that supplementing infants provides any health benefits. We conducted an observational study where 35 of 86 participating mothers self-administered probiotics during breastfeeding, as well as directly to their inf...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2018-05, Vol.8 (1), p.8283-16, Article 8283
Main Authors: Quin, C., Estaki, M., Vollman, D. M., Barnett, J. A., Gill, S. K., Gibson, D. L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
13/21
45/91
631/250
692/4020
Acid production
Babies
Breast feeding
Breast milk
Breastfeeding & lactation
Digestive system
Fecal microflora
Feces
Humanities and Social Sciences
Infants
Intestinal microflora
Microbial activity
Microbiomes
Microbiota
Mucosa
multidisciplinary
Observational studies
Probiotics
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Supplements
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:While probiotics are a multi-billion dollar industry, there is little evidence to show that supplementing infants provides any health benefits. We conducted an observational study where 35 of 86 participating mothers self-administered probiotics during breastfeeding, as well as directly to their infants. The primary objective was to determine if probiotic exposure influenced the infants’ fecal microbiome while the secondary objective assessed associated changes to the mothers’ breast milk immunity and infant health. Analysis of infant fecal microbiome throughout the first 6 months of life revealed that probiotics were associated with higher abundances of Bifidobacterium at week 1 only. Short-chain fatty acid production and predicted metagenomic functions of the microbial communities were not altered. While probiotics did not alter breast milk immune markers, fecal sIgA responses were higher among probiotic supplemented infants. Surprisingly, this was not associated with better health outcomes, as the probiotic cohort had higher incidences of mucosal-associated illnesses as toddlers. This retrospective clinical comparison suggests that probiotic exposure during infancy has limited effects on gut microbial composition yet is associated with increased infection later in life. These correlative findings caution against probiotic supplementation during infancy until rigorous controlled follow-up studies determining their safety and efficacy have occurred.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-26423-3