DISTINCTIVE COELIAC disease (CD) markers have been discovered in infants aged 1 year, up to 19 years before being diagnosed with the condition, according to a prospective cohort study. The ABIS study included data from babies born between October 1997 and October 1999 in five countries of southeast Sweden, where the samples were collated. The samples included blood, urine, stool, and hair, and were collected at birth, 1, 2.5–3.0, and 5.0–6.0 years. Furthermore, initial questionnaires and additional follow-ups through the National Patient Registry were utilised to provide more data, and the most recent update was documented in 2021.
The researchers explored early gut microbial imbalances by analysing the collected stool samples of 1,478 1-year-old infants from the ABIS study. Out of the collated samples, 26 of the participants were diagnosed with CD. The mean age of diagnosis was about 10 years; however, some of the participants were up to 20 years at the time of diagnosis. Although the changes in the gut microbiome have been associated as markers for CD in the past, this is the first study to discover a microbial signature, so long ahead of the initial diagnosis in the general population.
According to these results, prevalence dissimilarities in nine key microbes were discovered when comparing the gut microbiome of controls and infants who were diagnosed with CD. This was also the same case in seven differentially abundant bacteria. Additionally, these differences were confirmed by 100 different frequentative permutations of matched controls. This proposes that the bacteria signatures are remarkable in individuals who would develop future CD as well, accounting for inherited disease variability within the general population.
