This study investigates the association between prenatal social disadvantage (SD) and psychosocial stressors (PS) with variations in the gut microbiome of mother-child dyads. Using 16S rRNA and shotgun metagenomic sequencing of 121 and 89 dyads respectively, the researchers found distinct gut microbiome characteristics predictive of SD and PS in both mothers and children. High SD/high PS mothers exhibited the lowest inter-individual microbiome similarity, suggesting diverging gut microbiome assembly. Infant gut metagenomes at 4 months also predicted maternal prenatal IL-6 levels. These findings highlight potentially modifiable targets to mitigate health inequities.

Barbara B. Warner, Bruce A. Rosa, I. Malick Ndao, Phillip I. Tarr, J. Philip Miller, Sarah K. England, Joan L. Luby, Cynthia E. Rogers, Carla Hall-Moore, Renay E. Bryant, Jacqueline D. Wang, Laura A. Linneman, Tara A. Smyser, Christopher D. Smyser, Deanna M. Barch, Gregory E. Miller, Edith Chen, John Martin, Makedonka Mitreva