Effects of Lifetime Exposures to Environmental Contaminants on the Adult Gut Microbiome.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Prospective longitudinal birth cohort study tracking human exposures and microbiome outcomes over 28 years.
PubMed 36394280 · doi:10.1021/acs.est.2c03185
What was done
Researchers evaluated 124 participants from a Faroe Islands birth cohort born in 1986–1987 and followed approximately every seven years through age 28. Concentrations of organochlorine compounds (PCBs and pesticides), perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and mercury were quantified in umbilical cord blood and longitudinally in blood samples. At age 28, gut microbiome composition was measured using shotgun metagenomic sequencing to assess associations with historical and concurrent contaminant exposures.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical effect sizes or statistical test values. Historical and early-life contaminant exposures demonstrated little direct association with adult gut microbial composition. Recent PFAS and PFOS concentrations measured at age 28 were weakly linked to a small number of fastidious anaerobes.
Why it matters
This is the first longitudinal study evaluating human lifetime environmental toxicant exposure against adult gut microbiome sequencing. It suggests that adult microbial communities are relatively resilient to early-life toxicant exposures, though concurrent exposures may exert modest contemporary effects.
Limits
The sample size was modest (n = 124) and limited to a single distinct population in the Faroe Islands with specific dietary and exposure profiles. The abstract does not report specific risk estimates, confidence intervals, p-values, or taxonomic classifications. Gut microbiome assessment was performed only at age 28 rather than longitudinally, preventing direct evaluation of microbial trajectory changes over time.
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