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Gut colonization with methanobrevibacter smithii is associated with childhood weight development
Author(s) -
Mbakwa Catherine A.,
Penders John,
Savelkoul Paul H.,
Thijs Carel,
Dagnelie Pieter C.,
Mommers Monique,
Arts Ilja C.W.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1002/oby.21266
Subject(s) - overweight , feces , body mass index , odds ratio , confidence interval , percentile , anthropometry , biology , medicine , obesity , colonization , microbiology and biotechnology , statistics , mathematics
Objective To prospectively investigate the presence and counts of archaea in feces of 472 children in association with weight development from 6 to 10 years of age. Methods Within the KOALA Birth Cohort Study, a single fecal sample from each child was analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction to quantify archaea ( Methanobrevibacter smithii, Methanosphera stadtmanae ). Anthropometric outcomes (overweight [body mass index {BMI} ≥ 85th percentile], age‐ and sex‐standardized BMI, weight, and height z ‐scores) were repeatedly measured at ages (mean ± SD) of 6.2 ± 0.5, 6.8 ± 0.5, 7.8 ± 0.5, and 8.8 ± 0.5 years. Generalized estimating equation was used for statistical analysis while controlling for confounders. Results Methanobrevibacter smithii colonization was associated with an increased risk of overweight (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.69; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.96‐7.54) from 6 to 10 years of age. Children with high levels (>7 log 10 copies/g feces) of this archaeon were at highest risk for overweight (OR = 3.27; 95% CI 1.09‐9.83). Moreover, M. smithii colonization was associated with higher weight z ‐scores (adj. β 0.18; 95% CI 0.00‐0.36), but not with height. For BMI z ‐scores, the interaction ( P = 0.008) between M. smithii and age was statistically significant, implying children colonized with M. smithii had increasing BMI z ‐scores with age. Conclusions Presence and higher counts of M. smithii in the gut of children are associated with higher weight z ‐scores, higher BMI z ‐scores, and overweight.