Gut Microbiota Composition in the First and Third Trimester of Pregnancy among Malay Women is Associated with Body Mass Index: A Pilot Study

Bahiyah Abdullah; Mohd Yusri Idorus; Suzanna Daud; Shafiq Aazmi; Thanikasalam Kathiresan Pillai; Zaini Mohd Zain

doi:10.21315/mjms2023.30.1.10

Gut Microbiota Composition in the First and Third Trimester of Pregnancy among Malay Women is Associated with Body Mass Index: A Pilot Study

Malays J Med Sci. 2023 Feb;30(1):116-128. doi: 10.21315/mjms2023.30.1.10. Epub 2023 Feb 28.

Authors

Bahiyah Abdullah^{1

2}, Mohd Yusri Idorus³, Suzanna Daud^{1

2}, Shafiq Aazmi^{4

5}, Thanikasalam Kathiresan Pillai², Zaini Mohd Zain⁶

Affiliations

¹ Maternofetal and Embryo (MatE) Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Selangor, Malaysia.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Selangor, Malaysia.
³ Institute of Medical Molecular Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Selangor, Malaysia.
⁴ School of Biology, Faculty of Applied Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia.
⁵ Microbiome Health and Environment (MiHeaRT), Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia.
⁶ Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia.

Abstract

Background: This study has analysed the pattern of gut microbiota during the first and third trimesters among pregnant Malay women.

Methods: This was a pilot prospective observational study involving 12 pregnant Malay women without any endocrine disorders and on neither antibiotics nor probiotics. Demographic details and anthropometric measurements were obtained, and the faecal 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) metagenome microbiota of the first and third trimesters (T1 and T3) were analysed. Univariate and multivariate statistics, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA) and Kendall rank correlation testing were used to identify key genera and associations with pregnancy trimester and body mass index (BMI).

Results: The most abundant phyla were Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, with significant differences in composition at the genus level demonstrated between T1 and T3. Sequencing showed a statistically significant difference in beta diversity between normal and abnormal BMI at all taxonomic ranks (R ² = 0.60; Q ² = 0.23) and genus levels (R ² = 0.57; Q ² = 0.37). The relative abundances of Akkermansia (P < 0.05; false discovery rate [FDR] < 0.05), Olsenella (P < 0.05; FDR < 0.05) and Oscillospira (P < 0.05; FDR < 0.05) were found to be significantly higher in normal BMI cases by 2.4, 3.4 and 3.1 times, respectively.

Conclusion: Three genera (Akkermansia, Olsenella and Oscillospira) were correlated with normal BMI during pregnancy. All three could be promising biotherapeutic targets in body weight regulation during pregnancy, subsequently reducing complications associated with higher BMI.

Keywords: gut flora; microbial changes; taxonomic changes.