The Association between Early-Life Gut Microbiota and Long-Term Health and Diseases

Abstract

Early life gut microbiota have been increasingly recognized as major contributors to short and/or long-term human health and diseases. Numerous studies have demonstrated that human gut microbial colonization begins at birth, but continues to develop a succession of taxonomic abundances for two to three years until the gut microbiota reaches adult-like diversity and proportions. Several factors, including gestational age (GA), delivery mode, birth weight, feeding types, antibiotic exposure, maternal microbiome, and diet, influence the diversity, abundance, and function of early life gut microbiota. Gut microbial life is essential for assisting with the digestion of food substances to release nutrients, exerting control over pathogens, stimulating or modulating the immune system, and influencing many systems such as the liver, brain, and endocrine system. Microbial metabolites play multiple roles in these interactions. Furthermore, studies provide evidence supporting that imbalances of the gut microbiota in early life, referred to as dysbiosis, are associated with specific childhood or adult disease outcomes, such as asthma, atopic dermatitis, diabetes, allergic diseases, obesity, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and neurological disorders. These findings support that the human gut microbiota may play a fundamental role in the risk of acquiring diseases that may be programmed during early life. In fact, it is critical to explore the role of the human gut microbiota in early life.

Keywords: Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD); early-life gut microbiota; gut dysbiosis; gut microbiota; long-term health and disease.

Figure 1

Important factors which affect the microbiome’s richness and abundance at the early stages of life. The early stage of life can be segregated into mother’s pregnancy, parturition, and infancy stage. At each stage, several factors might influence the gut microbiota of the infant including maternal health and habits, local environment, host genetics, and administration of medicines such as antibiotics.

Figure 2

The relationship between lifespan and development of the gut microbiota. Many factors influence gut microbiota development, and certain critical time points in life are associated with the maturation of both the gut microbiota and the immune system. At infancy, if dysbiosis occurs due to factors such as prematurity, CS delivery, NICU admission, antibiotic usage, etc., the development and lifelong functions of many host physiological systems could be affected, leading to disease.