Early-life and concurrent predictors of the healthy adolescent microbiome in a cohort study

Authors

Hannah E. Laue, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences, 715 N. Pleasant Street, Arnold House 429, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA. hlaue@umass.edu.
Amy D. Willis, Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington Hans Rosling Center for Population Health, 3980 15 Avenue NE, Box 351617, Seattle, WA, 98195-1617, USA.
Fang Wang, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, 630 W 168th St, P&S 16-416, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
Melinda C. MacDougall, Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA.
Yingying Xu, Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA.
Margaret R. Karagas, Department of Epidemiology, Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, One Medical Center Dr Lebanon, Lebanon, NH, 03756, USA.
Juliette C. Madan, Department of Epidemiology, Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, One Medical Center Dr Lebanon, Lebanon, NH, 03756, USA.
Abby F. Fleisch, Center for Interdisciplinary and Population Health Research, Maine Institute for Research, Westbrook, ME, USA.
Bruce P. Lanphear, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Blusson Hall, 8888 University Dr, Burnaby, BC, Canada.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-8-2025

Institution/Department

Center for Interdisciplinary and Population Health Research

Journal Title

Genome medicine

MeSH Headings

Humans; Adolescent; Female; Male; Child; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Feces (microbiology); Cohort Studies; Metagenomics (methods)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The microbiome of adolescents is poorly understood, as are factors influencing its composition. We aimed to describe the healthy adolescent microbiome and identify early-life and concurrent predictors of its composition. METHODS: We performed metagenomic sequencing of 247 fecal specimens from 167 adolescents aged 11-14 years participating in the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment (HOME) Study, a longitudinal pregnancy and birth cohort (Cincinnati, OH). We described common features of the adolescent gut microbiome and applied self-organizing maps (SOMs)-a machine-learning approach-to identify distinct microbial profiles (n = 4). Using prospectively collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, diet, and sexual maturation, we identified early-life and concurrent factors associated with microbial diversity and phylum relative abundance with linear regression models and composition with Kruskal-Wallis and Fisher's exact tests. RESULTS: We found that household income and other sociodemographic factors were consistent predictors of the microbiome, with higher income associated with lower diversity and differential relative abundances of Firmicutes (increased) and Actinobacteria (decreased). Sexual maturation, distinct from chronological age, was related to higher diversity in females and differences in phylum relative abundances and compositional profiles in both males and females. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that adolescence is a unique window for gut microbial composition and that it may be shaped by both early-life and concurrent exposures, highlighting its potential in future epidemiologic research.

First Page

50

Recommended Citation

Laue HE, Willis AD, Wang F, et al. Early-life and concurrent predictors of the healthy adolescent microbiome in a cohort study. Genome Med. 2025;17(1):50. Published 2025 May 8. doi:10.1186/s13073-025-01481-1