SynthesisNature communications2018
Meta-analysis of effects of exclusive breastfeeding on infant gut microbiota across populations.
Synthesis in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 270 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Comparing Impacts of Donor Human Milk to Formula Supplementation on the Gut Microbiome of Full-term Infants Exposed to Antibiotics in Labour: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
DOnor Milk to REpair the Full-term Infant MIcrobiome in Infants Born Via Caesarean Section
Who cites it
270 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 447 citations in OpenAlex.
- Family-Centred Breastfeeding Interventions to Improve Exclusive Breastfeeding: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nursing open · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Core Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children.Nutrients · 2026Pooled it
- Associations of breastfeeding with maternal and child health outcomes: umbrella review.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Phage diversity in human breast milk: a systematic review.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Non-exclusive breastfeeding is associated with pneumonia and asthma in under-five children: an umbrella review of systematic review and meta-analysis.International breastfeeding journal · 2025Pooled it
- Microbiome and pediatric leukemia, diabetes, and allergies: Systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- A population-scale analysis of 36 gut microbiome studies reveals universal species signatures for common diseases.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2024Pooled it
- Development of a breastfeeding co-parenting intervention program for couples with primiparas: a program development process study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of the effects of proton pump inhibitors on the human gut microbiota.BMC microbiology · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of 16S rRNA microbial data identified alterations of the gut microbiota in COVID-19 patients during the acute and recovery phases.BMC microbiology · 2022Pooled it
- Faecal Microbiota in Infants and Young Children with Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Neonatal Diet and Gut Microbiome Development After C-Section During the First Three Months After Birth: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Breastfeeding Affects Concentration of Faecal Short Chain Fatty Acids During the First Year of Life: Results of the Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Diet, adiposity, and the gut microbiota from infancy to adolescence: A systematic review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2021Pooled it
- The impact of ChatGPT on preoperative anxiety and postoperative depression in cesarean section: a prospective randomized trial.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Trial
- Immunological effects of alpha-lactalbumin-enriched low-protein infant formula: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition · 2025Trial
- Effect of Dexmedetomidine on the EDDrug design, development and therapy · 2025Trial
- The effect of electronic job aid assisted one-to-one counselling to support exclusive breastfeeding among 0-5-month-old infants in rural Bangladesh.Maternal & child nutrition · 2022Trial
- Trial
210 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 11 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Previous studies on the differences in gut microbiota between exclusively breastfed (EBF) and non-EBF infants have provided highly variable results. Here we perform a meta-analysis of seven microbiome studies (1825 stool samples from 684 infants) to compare the gut microbiota of non-EBF and EBF infants across populations. In the first 6 months of life, gut bacterial diversity, microbiota age, relative abundances of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, and predicted microbial pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism are consistently higher in non-EBF than in EBF infants, whereas relative abundances of pathways related to lipid metabolism, vitamin metabolism, and detoxification are lower. Variation in predicted microbial pathways associated with non-EBF infants is larger among infants born by Caesarian section than among those vaginally delivered. Longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding is associated with reduced diarrhea-related gut microbiota dysbiosis. Furthermore, differences in gut microbiota between EBF and non-EBF infants persist after 6 months of age. Our findings elucidate some mechanisms of short and long-term benefits of exclusive breastfeeding across different populations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.