Maternal anemia during pregnancy and its association with the gut microbiota profile in pregnant and postpartum women, and their infants: a cohort study.
Academic Article
Overview
abstract
BACKGROUND: Anemia is highly prevalent in resource-limited settings, especially during pregnancy and postpartum, and is linked to adverse maternal-infant health outcomes. The role of gut microbiota in anemia during pregnancy remains poorly understood, despite the recognized links between microbiota and maternal-infant health. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the association between maternal anemia during pregnancy and the gut microbiota profile in pregnant and postpartum women, and their infants. METHODS: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted in Pune, India. 218 pregnant women were enrolled at 13 to 34 weeks of gestation and followed through 1 year postpartum. We examined the cross-sectional association of maternal anemia (hemoglobin <110 g/L) with gut microbiota during the second and third trimesters, and the prospective association of maternal anemia during pregnancy with gut microbiota at 6 months for postpartum mothers and infants. Multivariable models (linear, PERMANOVA and ANCOM-BC) compared α-diversity, β-diversity (Bray-Curtis distance), and abundance of taxa by anemia status. RESULTS: While gut microbial α-diversity and β-diversity did not differ significantly by maternal anemia status, significant differences in taxa abundance by maternal anemia status among mothers were observed, with log fold changes [95% CI] for Flavonifractor (0.523 [0.27, 0.77]) and Enterococcus (0.821 [0.542, 1.1]). In infants, significant differences in taxa abundance by maternal anemia status were also found, including Coproccocus_2 (-0.628 [-0.91, -0.36]) and Desulfovibrio (-2.05 [-2.31, -1.78]). CONCLUSION: Our findings reveal a distinct gut microbiota profile in mothers and infants by maternal anemia status. We identified specific taxa that are linked to anemia-related conditions (e.g. iron deficiency) and maternal-infant health outcomes. Future longitudinal studies should explore potential transgenerational associations of maternal anemia with infant microbiota and evaluate whether microbiota-informed interventions, alongside anemia treatments, could improve maternal-infant health outcomes.
