Human Milk Oligosaccharides and Associations With Immune-Mediated Disease and Infection in Childhood: A Systematic Review

Complex sugars found in breastmilk, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), may assist in early-life immune programming and prevention against infectious diseases. This study aimed to systematically review the associations between maternal levels of HMOs and development of immune-mediated or infectious diseases in the offspring. PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched (last search on 22 February 2018) according to a predetermined search strategy. Original studies published in English examining the effect of HMOs on immune-mediated and infectious disease were eligible for inclusion. Of 847 identified records, 10 articles from 6 original studies were included, with study quality ranging from low to high. Of three studies to examine allergic disease outcomes, one reported a protective effect against cow’s milk allergy (CMA) by 18 months of age associated with lower lacto-N-fucopentaose (LNFP) III concentrations (OR: 6.7, 95% CI 2.0–22). Another study found higher relative abundance of fucosyloligosaccharides was associated with reduced diarrhea incidence by 2 years, due to (i) stable toxin-E. coli infection (p = 0.04) and (ii) “all causes” (p = 0.042). Higher LNFP-II concentrations were associated with (i) reduced cases of gastroenteritis and respiratory tract infections at 6 weeks (p = 0.004, p = 0.010) and 12 weeks (p = 0.038, p = 0.038) and (ii) reduced HIV transmission (OR: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.21–0.97) and mortality risk among HIV-exposed, uninfected infants (HR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.14–0.74) by 24 months. Due to heterogeneity of the outcomes reported, pooling of results was not possible. There was limited evidence that low concentrations of LNFP-III are associated with CMA and that higher fucosyloligosaccharide levels protect infants against infectious disease. Further research is needed.