The impact of early life dietary patterns on weight status, fecal microbiota and volatile fatty acid composition in 2-year-old children enrolled in the STRONG Kids 2 cohort

Dinsmoor, Andrew Murray

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Description

Title

The impact of early life dietary patterns on weight status, fecal microbiota and volatile fatty acid composition in 2-year-old children enrolled in the STRONG Kids 2 cohort

Author(s)

Dinsmoor, Andrew Murray

Issue Date

2021-07-21

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

• Donovan, Sharon M.
• Khan, Naiman A.

Committee Member(s)

• Holscher, Hannah D.
• Swanson, Kelly S.

Department of Study

Nutritional Sciences

Discipline

Nutritional Sciences

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Diet
• Dietary Patterns
• Fecal Microbiome
• Toddler

Abstract

ABSTRACT The human gut microbiota, studied by proxy via the fecal microbiota, influences development of a number of human disease states. Unfortunately, current literature is scant on the investigation of early life dietary patterns’ influence on fecal microbiota and volatile fatty acid (VFA) composition in toddlers and provides contradictory findings on how early life dietary patterns impact weight status, leaving a largely insufficient body of evidence for potential future dietary interventions aimed at disease prevention or health improvement in children under 5 y. To bridge this gap in the literature, this thesis set out to examine how nutrient intake and dietary patterns relate to fecal microbiota and VFAs in 2-year-olds and to examine associations with weight status. As a first step in this investigation, we conducted a systematic review (Chapter 2 of this document) of the published literature on diet and microbiome in healthy individuals between the ages of 1 and 20 y. Through assessing 14 articles in this systematic review, we identified only 1 study that investigated associations between foods and food groups and fecal microbiota in toddlers 2-3 y of age, and no studies were identified that examined the impact of dietary patterns on fecal microbiota and VFAs in toddlers. To be the first study to examine this gap in the literature, we tested the following central hypothesis: Distinct dietary patterns will be established by age 2 y, and dietary patterns will influence child weight status, fecal microbiota and VFA composition at age 2 y. Toddlers from The Synergistic Theory Research Obesity and Nutrition Group (STRONG) Kids 2 birth cohort (n=288) were investigated (Chapter 3 of this document). Participant characteristic data, anthropometrics, and dietary information by Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) were obtained at child’s age of 6 wk and 3, 12, 18, and 24 mo. To characterize the gut microbiota and VFA composition, stool samples were collected at 24 mo. The V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA bacterial gene was sequenced using Illumina NovaSeq6000 and analyzed using QIIME2 version 2020.8. VFAs were analyzed via gas-chromatography. Mean age at fecal sampling and assessment of dietary intake was 2.01 ± 0.04 y. After using QIIME2 to rarefy the feature table to a sampling depth of 48,694 sequences per sample, microbiome data as well as parcticipant characteristics were analyzed within dietary patterns (n=274) and between dietary patterns (n=140). VFA concentrations within and between dietary patterns were also analyzed in a sub-sample (n=99). Two distinct dietary patterns emerged: High Fiber and Nutrient-Dense Dietary Pattern (HF DP) and Processed and Sweet Foods Dietary Pattern (PS DP). However, neither dietary pattern related to weight status at 2 y. Additionally, no association was found between the HF DP and Prevotella, Prevotella copri, and alpha diversity, respectively, and there was no association between Bacteroides, the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio (F/B ratio), or alpha diversity, respectively, and the PS DP. HF DP scores positively correlated with VFA concentrations (µmol/g DMB) of acetate (P = 0.02) and butyrate (P = 0.04), and PS DP scores positively associated with VFAs valerate (P = 0.01) and isovalerate (P = 0.02). Permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) tests detected differences in beta diversity within and between dietary patterns, and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) Effect Size (LEfSe) showed differences in microbes at the species level within and between dietary patterns, such as Bifidobacterium longum, Ruminococcus gnavus, and Clostridium butyricum, reported herein. Our study had limitations such as use of parent self-report FFQ, which is known to be prone to error and bias. Also, because average percent relative abundance of Prevotella in our sample was low (0.5%), this may have made detection of associations between diet and this genus difficult as compared to other studies. Further, many of the associations between diet and microbes identified in our systematic review were reported in children, adolescents, and teenagers who may have had years longer exposure to certain types of dietary intake as compared to our sample of toddlers. Moreover, since the microbiota is less stable at age 2 y as compared to later ages more reflective of an adult-like microbiota, this may have confounded our observations between diet and alpha diversity. Lastly, because 2 y is also a period of such rapid weight gain, the amount of weight gained across our sample may have masked any smaller differences in weight status associated with dietary patterns. Since our study did show differences in VFA concentrations influenced by dietary patterns, further research into metabolomics at this age is needed to examine if additional metabolites are modulated by dietary patterns. Additionally, longitudinal research is needed to determine if and when precisely the observed associations between diet and fecal microbiota in childhood are established in toddlerhood as well as metagenomics studies to reach greater species level resolution in this age group.

Graduation Semester

2021-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

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© 2021 Andrew M. Dinsmoor

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