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- Mishra, A, et al.
(author)
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Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents' growth and development
- 2023
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 615:7954, s. 874-883
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.
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- Nilsen, M, et al.
(author)
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Butyrate Levels in the Transition from an Infant- to an Adult-Like Gut Microbiota Correlate with Bacterial Networks Associated with Eubacterium Rectale and Ruminococcus Gnavus
- 2020
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In: Genes. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4425. ; 11:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Relatively little is known about the ecological forces shaping the gut microbiota composition during infancy. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to identify the nutrient utilization- and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production potential of gut microbes in infants during the first year of life. Stool samples were obtained from mothers at 18 weeks of pregnancy and from infants at birth (first stool) at 3, 6, and 12-months of age from the general population-based PreventADALL cohort. We identified the taxonomic and SCFA composition in 100 mother-child pairs. The SCFA production and substrate utilization potential of gut microbes were observed by multiomics (shotgun sequencing and proteomics) on six infants. We found a four-fold increase in relative butyrate levels from 6 to 12 months of infant age. The increase was correlated to Eubacterium rectale and its bacterial network, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii relative abundance, while low butyrate at 12 months was correlated to Ruminococcus gnavus and its associated network of bacteria. Both E. rectale and F. prausnitzii expressed enzymes needed for butyrate production and enzymes related to dietary fiber degradation, while R. gnavus expressed mucus-, fucose, and human milk oligosaccharides (HMO)-related degradation enzymes. Therefore, we believe that the presence of E. rectale, its network, and F. prausnitzii are key bacteria in the transition from an infant- to an adult-like gut microbiota with respect to butyrate production. Our results indicate that the transition from an infant- to an adult-like gut microbiota with respect to butyrate producing bacteria, occurs between 6 and 12 months of infant age. The bacteria associated with the increased butyrate ratio/levels were E. rectale and F. prausnitzii, which potentially utilize a variety of dietary fibers based on the glycoside hydrolases (GHs) expressed. R. gnavus with a negative association to butyrate potentially utilizes mucin, fucose, and HMO components. This knowledge could have future importance in understanding how microbial metabolites can impact infant health and development.
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