Early Life Antibiotics, Gut Microbiome Development, and Risk of Childhood Obesity

Perinatal and infant antibiotic exposures are common and have been linked to changes in the gut microbiome, which plays a central role in health and disease. Childhood obesity is an epidemic and animal models have linked antibiotic induced changes in the microbiome with increased adiposity. Infants become colonized with trillions of bacteria in the first few hours of life. During this time period, their nascent immune system develops tolerance to commensal microbes

The primary objectives are to measure the impact of common perinatal and early childhood antibiotic exposures on the structure and function of the developing gut microbiome. To determine the association between common perinatal and early childhood antibiotic exposures and weight/adiposity gain in a large birth cohort of children. To determine mechanisms for the association between microbiome changes over time and the rate of weight/adiposity gain in a large birth cohort of children. To determine the normal developmental pattern by which healthy children develop antibodies in their blood against the microbes that naturally colonize their intestines. To determine the association between immunostimulation and protection from persistent colonization in humans.