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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT04432636

Gut Bacteria and Brain of the Baby

The project is a prospective French population based cohort. A hundred moderate preterms born at GA30-326/7 will be enrolled for a longitudinal follow-up up to 2 years of corrected age. Eligible neonates will be those born at 30-326/7 weeks of gestation admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Rennes Hospital, including transferred infants during the first day of life. The infants will be followed up to the corrected age of 2 years by pediatricians.

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Key information

Age range

30 week–32 week

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

CHU Rennes - Hôpital Sud

Rennes, France

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Preterms born at gestational age of 30-326/7 weeks of amenorrhea
  • Preterms born in Rennes hospital or preterms born in another hospital but moved to Rennes hospital during the first 24 h of postnatal life
  • Parents or holder of the parental authority who give in writing their free, prior and informed consent for recruitment of their baby who has a social security system
  • Mother of the baby who gives in writing her free, prior and informed consent to be involved in the present study
  • Mother of the baby who has a social security system

Exclusion criteria

  • Preterms born with a genetic disease
  • Preterms born with a digestive defect
  • Uncompetent parents under the protection of guardianship or tutelage services

Treatment and study plan

Data collection of environmental factors

Other
  • Data collection of environmental factors (including maternal nutrition and social level, mode of delivery, birth weight, mode of infant feeding, antibiotic treatments) at the recruitment

Collection of maternal feces

Other
  • Collection of maternal feces: the first sample after delivery and once a week during the period of hospitalization of their infant (i.e. 5 to 8 samples per mother)

Collection of infant feces

Other
  • Collection of infant feces: the first sample after birth and once a week during the period of hospitalization of the baby (i.e. 5 to 8 samples per mother) and a sample collected at the corrected age of 1 year and 2 years (i.e. 8 to 10 samples per infant)

food questionnaire

Other
  • A food questionnaire completed by the mother the week after delivery,

a food questionnaire on the infant alimentation and food behavior during the period of 2 and 10 months of age

Other

a food questionnaire on the infant alimentation and food behavior during the period of 2 and 10 months of age, completed by the parents and given to the pediatrician at the medical check-up at the corrected age of 1 year

a food questionnaire on the infant alimentation and food behavior during the period of 12 and 24 months of age

Other

a food questionnaire on the infant alimentation and food behavior during the period of 12 and 24 months of age, completed by the parents and given to the pediatrician at the medical check-up at the corrected age of 2 years

Sample of milk

Other

A sample of 15 mL of milk drunk by the preterm at the 7th postnatal day (if not possible between the 7th and the 10th postnatal days).

The 'Ages and Stages Questionnaire' ASQ

Other
  • The 'Ages and Stages Questionnaire' ASQ survey completed by the parents and given to the pediatrician at the corrected age of 2 years medical check-up

Primary outcomes

  1. to associate preterms microbial profiles and psychomotor outcomes at 2 years of corrected age using the 'Ages and Stages Questionnaire' ASQ survey

    Time frame: at 2 years of corrected age

    To associate preterms microbial profiles (bacteria and fungi; alpha- and beta-diversity, abundancies and complex interactions between neonatal microbiotas) and psychomotor outcomes at 2 years of corrected age using the 'Ages and Stages Questionnaire' survey. Each questionnaire includes 30 items covering five developmental domains: communication abilities, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, problem solving abilities, and personal-social skills. Items are scored on a three point scale depending on whether the child performs the task: yes (10 points), sometimes (5 points), or not yet (0 points). Responses are summed to give a score of 0 to 60 for each domain and an overall maximum ASQ score of 300 points. Analyses were based on domain specific scores, using established screening cut-off points: an ASQ score below threshold was defined as a score lower than 2 standard deviations from the mean on any of the five domains.

Secondary outcomes

  1. interactions between maternal and neonatal microbiotas - 2

    Time frame: at 2 years of corrected age

    Pearson correlation values between maternal microbiota composition and infant gut microbiota composition from birth up to 2 years at corrected age..

  2. interactions between maternal and neonatal microbiotas - 1

    Time frame: at 1 year of corrected age

    .Pearson correlation values between maternal microbiota composition and infant gut microbiota composition from birth up to 1 year at corrected age.

  3. Bacterial and fongal microbiotas

    Time frame: at 1 year of corrected age

    Pearson correlation values between bacterial (16S) and fongal (18S) microbiota composition in infant from birth up to 1 year at corrected age.

  4. Bacterial and fongal microbiotas

    Time frame: at 2 years of corrected age

    Pearson correlation values between bacterial (16S) and fongal (18S) microbiota composition in infant from birth up to 2 years at corrected age.

  5. maternal dietary profiles and maternal microbiota

    Time frame: up to 8 weeks after delivery

    • Correlation between maternal dietary profiles (food questionnaire completed by the mother the week after delivery) and maternal microbiota. Associations between clinical metadata, dietary profiles and microbial community abundance will be investigate by Multivariate Association with Linear Models (MaAslin).
  6. maternal dietary profiles and maternal microbiota

    Time frame: up to one week after delivery

    • Correlation between maternal dietary profiles (food questionnaire completed by the mother the week after delivery) and maternal microbiota. Associations between clinical metadata, dietary profiles and microbial community abundance will be investigate by Multivariate Association with Linear Models (MaAslin).
  7. maternal dietary profiles and maternal milk composition

    Time frame: at the 7th postnatal day

    • Correlation between maternal dietary profiles (food questionnaire completed by the mother the week after delivery) and maternal milk (a sample of milk drunk by the preterm at the 7th postnatal day, if not possible between the 7th and the 10th postnatal days) composition. The interactions will be assessed by Pearson correlation analysis and drewing the interaction network using Cystoscape package in R.
  8. maternal dietary profiles, maternal milk composition and preterms gut microbiotas

    Time frame: Up to the 2 years of the baby

    • Correlation between maternal maternal dietary profiles (food questionnaire completed by the mother the week after delivery) and maternal milk (a sample of milk drunk by the preterm at the 7th postnatal day, if not possible between the 7th and the 10th postnatal days) composition and preterms gut microbiotas collection of infant feces: the first sample after birth and once a week during the period of hospitalization of the baby (i.e. 5 to 8 samples per infant) and a sample collected at the corrected age of 1 year and 2 years (i.e. 8 to 10 samples per infant). Associations between clinical metadata, dietary profiles and milk composition, and microbial community abundance will be investigate by Multivariate Association with Linear Models (MaAslin) and by applying Markov Decision Process (MDPs) to take into account the analysis of microbiota dynamics
  9. Dietary profile and gut microbia composition

    Time frame: at 1 year of corrected age

    Correlation between 1-y infant dietary profile and 1-y infant gut microbiota composition. Associations between infant dietary profiles and microbial community abundance will be investigate by Multivariate Association with Linear Models (MaAslin) and by applying Markov Decision Process (MDPs) to take into account the analysis of microbiota dynamics

  10. Dietary profile and gut microbia composition

    Time frame: at 2 years of corrected age

    Correlation between 1-y infant dietary profile and 2-y infant gut microbiota composition. Associations between infant dietary profiles and microbial community abundance will be investigate by Multivariate Association with Linear Models (MaAslin) and by applying Markov Decision Process (MDPs) to take into account the analysis of microbiota dynamics

  11. Gut microbia

    Time frame: at 1 year of corrected age

    Functional activity of gut microbiota (in vitro test using 1-y infant fecal samples). Endocrine and barrier function responses of an in vitro tricellular model of intestinal epithelium (including enterocytes, mucin-secreting cells and entero-endocrine cells) to the stimulation by fecal water from 1-y infant feces will be characterized.

  12. Gut microbia

    Time frame: at 2 years of corrected age

    Functional activity of gut microbiota (in vitro test using 1-y infant fecal samples). Endocrine and barrier function responses of an in vitro tricellular model of intestinal epithelium (including enterocytes, mucin-secreting cells and entero-endocrine cells) to the stimulation by fecal water from 1-y infant feces will be characterized.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Rennes University Hospital

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Gut Bacteria and Brain of the Baby: to Link up the Dynamic of Gut Colonization in Preterms Born at Gestational Age of 30-326/7 Weeks and Their Psychomotor Development at 2 Years

Acronym: BaBBa

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Jun 16, 2020
Registry last updated
Jun 12, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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