This study is intended to find the association between factors influencing the gut Microbiome (including Cesarean, breast feeding and early life exposure to antibiotic) and the risk of asthma in children. Furthermore, we aim to assess the association between these factors and asthma exacerbations in asthmatic children.
The gut microbiome plays an important role in health and disease. Low intestinal bacterial diversity during the first month of life, which is the critical period of microbiome development, influences immune function, and has been associated with higher prevalence of chronic diseases such as asthma and allergies. It has been hypothesized that factors influencing the onset of the microbiome development (such as way of birth delivery, breast-feeding and antibiotics exposure) in children might also affect asthma susceptibility.
The study will be performed in Utrecht University using different databases from different countries. A cohort of asthmatic children younger than 19 years will be included.