Exposure to household furry pets influences the gut microbiota of infant at 3-4 months following various birth scenarios.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Early-life exposure to household pets has the capacity to reduce risk for overweight and allergic disease, especially following caesarean delivery. Since there is some evidence that pets also alter the gut microbial composition of infants, changes to the gut microbiome are putative pathways by which pet exposure can reduce these risks to health. To investigate the impact of pre- and postnatal pet exposure on infant gut microbiota following various birth scenarios, this study employed a large subsample of 746 infants from the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development Study (CHILD) cohort, whose mothers were enrolled during pregnancy between 2009 and 2012. Participating mothers were asked to report on household pet ownership at recruitment during the second or third

SUBMITTER: Tun HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5382463 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature