Delivery mode, environment and the gut microbiome: influence on childhood body size

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Caesarean section (CS) delivery, which accounts for 32% of all US births, has been associated with offspring obesity. Little is known about the mechanisms linking CS with obesity risk. The gut microbiome, which varies by mode of delivery, is also associated with childhood obesity. In our established racially and socioeconomically diverse birth cohort (WHEALS; Wayne County Health, Environment, Allergy and Asthma Longitudinal Study), the early-life gut microbiome is associated with body mass index (BMI) category at age 2 years; CS is associated with both a distinct early-life gut microbiome and with increased BMI at age 2 years; and the presence of pets in the home, which increases microbial diversity, reduces the association between CS and BMI. Our data provide evidence for a mediating role of the gut microbiome in the CS-obesity relationship. However, to provide stronger evidence requires additional study. This project builds on extant data in WHEALS and on-going data collection in a subset of these children to examine the role of the gut microbiome in the CS-obesity association. Children will be invited for a research clinic visit for comprehensive body size assessment and blood draw at age 10-12 years. Gut microbiome composition and predicted function will be measured in banked early-life (1 and 6 months of infancy) stool samples and in samples from these children at age 10-12 years using the 16S rRNA and ITS2 biomarker genes and the Illumina MiSeq platform. A metabolomics analysis will be conducted in a subset of these stool samples. Adiposity will be measured as BMI at ages 2 and 10-12 years, BMI trajectory from birth to age 10-12 years, and anthropometric, bio-impedance and inflammatory measures at ages 10-12 years. Combined, we anticipate 630 unique children will have 10-year adiposity measures and at least one early-life microbiome measure (405 with 1 month and 381 with 6 month stool samples, which includes 300 children with paired 1 and 6 month samples). Of these children, 400 will also have gut microbiome measured at age 10-12 years. Our specific aims are to: (1) examine if mode of delivery is associated with childhood adiposity; (2) examine if the gut microbiome is associated with childhood adiposity; and (3) examine whether the gut microbiome mediates relationships between mode of delivery and measures of adiposity. Such a complementary "omics" approach has never been applied to the study of childhood obesity and is likely to provide critical insights into disease development in early-life as well as potential targets amenable for intervention.