Preterm Infant Gut Microbiome And Weight At 36 Weeks Corrected Gestational Age

The gut microbiota is thought to influence obesity, but the impact of the microbiota on preterm infant growth has not been studied. We hypothesized that growth of preterm infants could be associated with the microbial community. We therefore analyzed 75 preterm infants born at <29 weeks gestational age (GA) who survived free of necrotizing enterocolitis and sepsis until hospital discharge. We collected stool samples at week 3 of life and extracted DNA to sequence the 16s rRNA gene using Illumina MiSeq. Weight, length, and head circumference were measured at birth and at 36 weeks corrected GA. Size percentile by GA was calculated using the 2013 Fenton growth chart. Using weighted UniFrac, ordination, and ordisurf in QIIME and R, we tested for an association between the gut microbiome and size at 36 weeks corrected GA. Size variables were categorized by a median split and screened for association with the microbial community using the Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) method. Regression modeling was used to confirm LEfSe findings. Weight percentile at 36 weeks corrected GA was significantly correlated with gut microbiome and with higher relative abundance of Proteobacteria at week 3 of life. The association between weight and Proteobacteria remained significant after including potential confounding factors in the regression model. In conclusion, the composition of the preterm infant gut microbiome correlates with infant weight percentile at 36 weeks corrected GA.