Early-life interactions between human milk feeding and B infantis, among other bacteria, were associated with the infant fecal metabolome and childhood SBP, underscoring the potential importance of early-life nutrition-microbe interplay in cardiometabolic health.
Key Findings
Results
Among infants harboring B infantis at age 3 months, both mixed and exclusive human milk feeding were associated with lower childhood systolic blood pressure percentile.
Mixed feeding was associated with a difference of -14.81 (95% CI, -27.05 to -2.56) SBP percentile among infants harboring B infantis
Exclusive human milk feeding was associated with a difference of -17.16 (95% CI, -29.48 to -4.83) SBP percentile among infants harboring B infantis
No association between feeding type and SBP was observed among infants without B infantis
The association was observed at ages 3 and 5 years of childhood SBP measurement
Results
Human milk feeding and B infantis presence showed interactive associations with infant fecal metabolites and childhood SBP at age 3 months but not at age 1 year.
Gut microbiome, fecal metabolome, and human milk feeding status were assessed at ages 3 months and 1 year
The interactive association was specific to the 3-month timepoint
No corresponding interaction was observed at the 1-year assessment
Results
Additional infant gut microbes beyond B infantis demonstrated feeding- or B infantis-dependent associations with childhood SBP.
Eggerthella lenta and Veillonella dispar were among the microbes showing feeding- or B infantis-dependent associations with childhood SBP
These microbes were identified as milk-degrading microbes of interest alongside B infantis
Results
Specific fecal metabolites demonstrated feeding- or B infantis-dependent associations with childhood SBP.
Creatinine and succinic acid were among the fecal metabolites showing feeding- or B infantis-dependent associations
These metabolite associations were observed in infant fecal samples
Methods
The study cohort included children from the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study with specific demographic characteristics.
610 (46.1%) of participants were girls
982 children (74.2%) were delivered vaginally
Mean (SD) maternal age at delivery was 33.3 (4.5) years
Participants were born at 35 weeks of gestation or later without congenital abnormalities or respiratory distress syndrome
Data were collected from 2009 to 2018 and analyzed from January to December 2024
Liu T, Petersen C, Zhao N, Moraes T, Subbarao P, Simons E, et al.. (2026). Human Milk and Infant Gut Microbiome in Association With Infant Fecal Metabolome and Child Blood Pressure.. JAMA network open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.59385