Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria in Human Milk and Maternal Adiposity

Abstract

The main objective was to explore the relationship between the microbiota of human milk and adiposity in Mexican mothers during the first lactation stage. Methods: Seventy lactating women were included. Adiposity by anthropometric measurements and by bioelectric impedance was obtained. The donation of human milk was requested, from which bacterial DNA was extracted and qPCR of the 16S region was performed. The Mann–Whitney U test, Spearman and Pearson correlations, and multiple linear regressions models were also calculated. Results: The median percentage of Bacteroidetes had a direct and significant correlation with normal adiposity, current BMI, waist circumference, and body fat percentage. The correlation with current BMI became significantly inverse in women with BMI ≥ 25. In women with normal BMI, the percentage of Actinobacteria showed a direct and significant correlation with current BMI, waist circumference, and percentage of body fat. Multiple linear regressions showed that pre-pregnancy BMI was the variable with the highest predictive value with the Bacteroidetes phyla in normal BMI and in BMI ≥ 25. Conclusions: the adiposity of the woman before pregnancy and during lactation would have an important effect on the abundance of Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria in human milk.