Prenatal food insecurity post Hurricane Maria is associated with decreased Veillonella in the infant gut.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on 20 September 2017 causing catastrophic devastation. Prolonged shortage of food had been a substantial challenge to the residents after Maria. Experiencing food insecurity in utero has been associated with negative health outcomes later in life. We aim to examine whether there is any alteration in the infant gut microbiome that is associated with prenatal food insecurity.

Methods

We established a cohort of infants aged 2-6 months who were exposed in utero to Hurricane Maria near San Juan, Puerto Rico and examined the gut microbiota (n = 29) using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing.

Results

Among the enrolled infants, 30% of their mothers experienced "post-Maria poor access to food" for at least 1 month during pregnancy. T

SUBMITTER: Wang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7492397 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature