Microbiome profiles are associated with cognitive functioning in 45-month-old children

Prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal factors have been shown to shape neurobiological functioning and alter the risk for mental disorders later in life. The gut microbiome is established early in life, and interacts with the brain via the brain-immune-gut axis. However, little is known about how the microbiome relates to early-life cognitive functioning in children. The present study, where the fecal microbiome of 380 children was characterized using 16s rDNA and metagenomic sequencing aimed to investigate the association between the microbiota and cognitive functioning of children at the age of 45 months measured with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-III). Overall the microbiome profile showed a significant association with cognitive functioning. A strong correlation was found between cognitive functioning and the relative abundance of an unidentified genus of the family Enterobacteriaceae. Follow-up mediation analyses revealed significant mediation effects of the level of this genus on the associations of maternal smoking during pregnancy and current maternal smoking with cognitive functioning. Metagenomic sequencing of a subset of these samples indicated that the identified genus was most closely related to Enterobacter asburiae. Our results indicate that alteration of the gut microflora is associated with cognitive functioning in childhood. Furthermore, they suggest that the altered microflora might interact with other environmental factors such as maternal cigarette smoking by acting as a mediator between those factors and child cognitive function. Interventions directed at altering the microbiome should be explored in terms of improving cognitive functioning in young children.

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DNA methylation links prenatal smoking exposure to later life health outcomes in offspring

10.1101/428896 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Petri Wiklund ◽

Ville Karhunen ◽

Rebecca C Richmond ◽

Alina Rodriguez ◽

Maneka De Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dna Methylation ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Maternal Smoking ◽

Psychiatric Morbidity ◽

Later Life ◽

Prenatal Smoking ◽

Smoking During Pregnancy ◽

Mediation Analyses ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Prenatal Maternal Smoking

AbstractMaternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with adverse offspring health outcomes across their life course. We hypothesize that DNA methylation is a potential mediator of this relationship. To test this, we examined the association of prenatal maternal smoking with DNA methylation in 2,821 individuals (age 16 to 48 years) from five prospective birth cohort studies and perform Mendelian randomization and mediation analyses to assess, whether methylation markers have causal effects on disease outcomes in the offspring. We identify 69 differentially methylated CpGs in 36 genomic regions (P < 1×10−7), and show that DNA methylation may represent a biological mechanism through which maternal smoking is associated with increased risk of psychiatric morbidity in the exposed offspring.

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Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with epigenetic modifications of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor-6 exon in adolescent offspring

American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B Neuropsychiatric Genetics ◽

10.1002/ajmg.b.31109 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 153B (7) ◽

pp. 1350-1354 ◽

Cited By ~ 123

Author(s):

Maria Toledo-Rodriguez ◽

Shahrdad Lotfipour ◽

Gabriel Leonard ◽

Michel Perron ◽

Louis Richer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neurotrophic Factor ◽

Maternal Smoking ◽

Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor ◽

Epigenetic Modifications ◽

Smoking During Pregnancy ◽

Adolescent Offspring ◽

Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy ◽

The Brain

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Maternal Smoking Contributes to the Development of Childhood ADHD

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice ◽

10.46743/1540-580x/2005.1065 ◽

2005 ◽

Author(s):

Kelly Sadowski ◽

Thomas Parish

Keyword(s):

Behavioral Disorders ◽

Maternal Smoking ◽

Physician Assistants ◽

Cognitive Disorder ◽

Smoking During Pregnancy ◽

Maternal Cigarette Smoking ◽

Search Terms ◽

Causative Relationship ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Pubmed Search

A review of the literature was undertaken concerning maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy. A link between this behavior and an increased incidence of behavioral disorders, specifically Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was explored. The review was performed using Medline, CINAHL, and Pubmed. Search terms used were maternal smoking, ADHD, and behavioral disorders. Maternal smoking during pregnancy appears to be associated with an increased incidence of ADHD in childhood. A direct causative relationship has not been established. However, after controlling for other potential variables such as maternal age, education and socioeconomic status, it can be concluded that smoking during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for the development of ADHD in childhood. The development of childhood behavior disorders is likely a lesser-known effect of maternal smoking. This information can be used to alert physician assistants and other clinicians to a potentially preventable common childhood cognitive disorder.

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