Gut microbiota and infant distress – the association between compositional development of the gut microbiota and fussing and crying in early infancy

Abstract

Excessive crying in an otherwise healthy child coincides with several environmental alterations and maturational processes: changes in the sleep and feeding patterns, immunological, endocrinological, and neurological maturation, thermoregulation, compositional development of the gut microbiota, and improvement of the immunological defences, including the gut barrier functions. An intimate interrelationship between diet, the immune system, and microbiome has been recognized when explaining susceptibility to disease later in life, subsequent to the demonstration that the establishment of the gut microbiota provides an initial and massive source of microbial stimuli for the maturation of the gut-associated lymphoid tissue, particularly for the IgA plasma cells, conferring the first line of host immunological defence. Notwithstanding the extensive and multidisciplinary scientific interest centred on infant nutrition and gut microbiota, research so far has been unable to conclusively ascertain the determinants underlying infant crying, a common problem manifesting itself at the peak of these maturational processes; the duration of crying increases after birth, reaching a maximum during the second and the third month of life (1). Infantile colic is a specific condition characterized by paroxysmal, excessive, and inconsolable crying, with a duration exceeding 3 hours a day for 3 days or more a week (2). (Published: 18 June 2012) Citation: Microbial Ecology in Health & Disease 2012, 23 : 18577 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/mehd.v23i0.18577