ArticlePediatric research2026
Factors influencing preterm infant microbiota and their role in wheezing development.
Article in Pediatric research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Gut microbiota alterations in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit extremely preterm infants: a Chinese tertiary center study.Translational pediatrics · 2026Article
- Chronic respiratory morbidity and wheeze after preterm birth: a narrative review.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis multicenter prospective study, conducted between 2019 and 2022 in two neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Madrid (H. Severo Ochoa and H. La Paz), investigated the relationship between nasopharyngeal and gut microbiota in very preterm infants born at <32 weeks of gestation age and the development of recurrent wheezing during the first year of life.
methodsA total of 91 preterm neonates were enrolled, excluding those with major malformations, genetic disorders, or immunodeficiency. During hospitalization, weekly nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) were collected, beginning in the first 7 days of life. Respiratory viruses were detected via PCR. Stool samples for microbiota were obtained only one time during the first week of life. Microbial composition was characterized through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The analysis of associations with wheezing specifically included microbiota data from samples collected during the first week of life (stools and NPAs). Microbial profiles were analyzed using bioinformatic and statistical tools, including alpha and beta diversity metrics, redundancy analysis (RDA), and random forest predictive models. Wheezing was defined as ≥2 episodes of physician-confirmed wheezing requiring medical attention during the first year of life, as reported by caregivers and verified by clinical records.
resultsThe results showed that clinical factors such as delivery mode, antibiotic use, type of feeding, and mechanical ventilation significantly influenced microbial profiles. Infants who developed wheezing had a higher abundance of pathogens such as Klebsiella, Escherichia/Shigella, and Stenotrophomonas, whereas Bifidobacterium and Staphylococcus were more frequent in non-wheezing infants. Both nasopharyngeal and gut microbiota were significantly associated with respiratory outcomes, including hospital admissions and chronic respiratory treatments. Early-life dysbiosis-shaped by antibiotics and artificial feeding-was linked to heightened inflammation and increased risk of respiratory morbidity.
conclusionsThis study suggests that microbial composition during the first week of life can serve as an early predictor of wheezing in preterm infants. Targeted interventions, such as promoting breastfeeding and reducing unnecessary antibiotic use, may help preserve microbial diversity and improve long-term respiratory health in this vulnerable population. IMPACT: The microbiota of preterm neonates during the first week of life plays a pivotal role in determining the risk of respiratory diseases, such as wheezing, later in life. Clinical factors such as antibiotic use, delivery mode, and breastfeeding have a profound impact on microbiota composition, with specific genera such as Moraxella, Corynebacterium, and Bifidobacterium emerging as key biomarkers, making them important targets for interventions to promote long-term respiratory health in preterm infants. To recognize microbial predictors of recurrent wheezing in preterm infants could allow to explore potential microbiota-modulating strategies to mitigate respiratory complications in this high-risk population.
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.