Hardship affects the gut microbiome across generations

Key takeawaysA UCLA-led study has shown that hardship experienced by mothers during their own childhood or during pregnancy is reflected in the composition of their 2-year-old children ’s gut microbiome.It was previously understood that in rodents, prenatal stress affects microbiomes into adulthood, but how long after birth the effects lasted in humans was unknown.The changes to this community of microorganisms are likely among the ways that hardship affects a child ’s socioemotional development.Hardship experienced by mothers during their own childhood or during pregnancy is reflected in the composition of their 2-year-old children ’s gut microbiomes, reports an international team of scientists led by UCLA psychologists.The researchers found small to medium changes in the children ’s microbiomes. The research is the first to document the transgenerational effects of adversity on the human gut microbiome.A growing body of evidence links the gut microbiome to brain and immune functioning, and according to the researchers, changes to that community of microorganisms is likely among the ways that hardship affects children ’s socioemotional development.The study, which is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, builds on previous research in rodents, which has shown that that prenatal stress disrupts maternal vaginal and gut microbiomes. Because babies acquire their first gut microbes passing through their mother’s birth canal, mothers’ microb...

Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - July 21, 2023 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news