ArticlePediatric research2024
Patterns of infant fecal metabolite concentrations and social behavioral development in toddlers.
Article in Pediatric research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multi-omics time-series analysis in microbiome research: a systematic review.Briefings in bioinformatics · 2025Pooled it
- Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolomics in Pediatric Health and Disease.Metabolites · 2026Review
- Microbial metabolites as engines of behavioral variation across animals.Gut microbes · 2025Review
- Early-life and concurrent predictors of the healthy adolescent microbiome in a cohort study.Genome medicine · 2025Article
- Using a neural network to derive early childhood neurodevelopmental profiles in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- The associations between gut microbiota and fecal metabolites with intelligence quotient in preschoolers.BMC microbiology · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGut-derived metabolites, products of microbial and host co-metabolism, may inform mechanisms underlying children's neurodevelopment. We investigated whether infant fecal metabolites were related to toddler social behavior.
methodsStool samples collected from 6-week-olds (n = 86) and 1-year-olds (n = 209) in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study (NHBCS) were analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy metabolomics. Autism-related behavior in 3-year-olds was assessed by caregivers using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2). To assess the association between metabolites and SRS-2 scores, we used a traditional single-metabolite approach, quantitative metabolite set enrichment (QEA), and self-organizing maps (SOMs).
resultsUsing a single-metabolite approach and QEA, no individual fecal metabolite or metabolite set at either age was associated with SRS-2 scores. Using the SOM method, fecal metabolites of six-week-olds organized into four profiles, which were unrelated to SRS-2 scores. In 1-year-olds, one of twelve fecal metabolite profiles was associated with fewer autism-related behaviors, with SRS-2 scores 3.4 (95%CI: -7, 0.2) points lower than the referent group. This profile had higher concentrations of lactate and lower concentrations of short chain fatty acids than the reference.
conclusionsWe uncovered metabolic profiles in infant stool associated with subsequent social behavior, highlighting one potential mechanism by which gut bacteria may influence neurobehavior. IMPACT: Differences in host and microbial metabolism may explain variability in neurobehavioral phenotypes, but prior studies do not have consistent results. We applied three statistical techniques to explore fecal metabolite differences related to social behavior, including self-organizing maps (SOMs), a novel machine learning algorithm. A 1-year-old fecal metabolite pattern characterized by high lactate and low short-chain fatty acid concentrations, identified using SOMs, was associated with social behavior less indicative of autism spectrum disorder. Our findings suggest that social behavior may be related to metabolite profiles and that future studies may uncover novel findings by applying the SOM algorithm.
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