Key result
Congenital heart defects linked to lower gut microbiome alpha diversity in early childhood.
Why the study?
Gut microbiome maturation during the first three years of life may be altered in children with congenital heart defects (CHD) due to hypoxia, hemodynamic impairment, feeding factors, medications, and hospitalization. This study aimed to assess age-related changes in gut microbiome alpha diversity in children from birth to 3 years with CHD compared with healthy peers.
Does the presence of congenital heart defects alter age-related gut microbiome alpha diversity in children from birth to 3 years compared with healthy peers?
Cohort (n=109)
No
Does the presence of congenital heart defects alter age-related gut microbiome alpha diversity in children from birth to 3 years compared with healthy peers?
Infants and young children with congenital heart defects exhibit delayed and incomplete gut microbiome maturation, characterized by lower taxonomic richness and community evenness across the first three years of life compared with healthy controls.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Reduced alpha diversity in CHD children signals potential dysbiosis; leaves open whether microbiota interventions affect outcomes.
Introduction. Gut microbiome maturation during the first three years of life is accompanied by increasing taxonomic richness and community evenness. In children with congenital heart defects (CHD), this process may be altered by hypoxia, hemodynamic impairment, feeding factors, medications and hospitalization. Aim. To assess age-related changes in gut microbiome alpha diversity in children from birth to 3 years with CHD compared with healthy peers. Materials and methods . This secondary analysis used data from a prospective observational study conducted at the Khorezm Regional Children’s Multidisciplinary Medical Center in 2023–2026. The analysis included 73 children with CHD and 36 healthy controls divided into three age groups: 0–6 months, 6–12 months, and 1–3 years. Fecal microbiota was assessed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Shannon, Simpson, and Pielou indices and the number of bacterial genera were analyzed. Results . All alpha-diversity measures were lower in CHD. At 0–6 months, the Shannon index was 1.49 ± 0.09 versus 2.27 ± 0.24, while the number of genera was 20.5 ± 2.6 versus 40.4 ± 5.9. At 6–12 months, 27.5 ± 1.6 genera were detected in CHD versus55.7 ± 4.0 in controls. At 1–3 years, the Pielou index was 0.513 ± 0.016 versus 0.69 ± 0.03, and the number of genera was 76.1 ± 1.8 versus 120 ± 10. Conclusion . Gut microbiome maturation in CHD is delayed and incomplete. Increasing taxonomic richness is not accompanied by a sustained increase in community evenness.
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Бабаджанова et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in Congenital heart defects (CHD) (n=109). Congenital heart defects (CHD) vs. Healthy controls was evaluated on Age-related gut microbiome alpha diversity (Shannon, Simpson, and Pielou indices and number of bacterial genera assessed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing). Children with congenital heart defects had lower gut microbiome alpha diversity than healthy peers, including fewer bacterial genera from 0–6 months (20.5 vs 40.4) to 1–3 years (76.1 vs 120).
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