Prenatal food insecurity post Hurricane Maria is associated with decreased Veillonella in the infant gut

BACKGROUND: Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on September 20(th), 2017 causing catastrophic devastation. Prolonged shortage of food had been a substantial challenge to the residents after Maria. Experiencing food insecurity in utero has been associated with negative health outcomes later in life. We aim to examine whether there is any alteration in the infant gut microbiome that is associated with prenatal food insecurity. METHODS: We established a cohort of infants aged 2–6 months who were exposed in utero to Hurricane Maria near San Juan, Puerto Rico and examined the gut microbiota (n=29) using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. RESULTS: Among the enrolled infants, 30% of their mothers experienced “post-Maria poor access to food” for at least one month during pregnancy. The relative abundance of gut Veillonella spp. is significantly decreased among infants who experienced prenatal food insecurity, compared to those who did not (adjusted p=0.025). There is no significant difference observed by prenatal food insecurity at the microbial community level in this cohort. CONCLUSION: Our finding indicated that infants who experienced prenatal food insecurity post hurricane harbor microbial alternations of specific bacterial taxa, which may further influence the microbial maturation and place the individual at a high-risk health trajectory.