Meals, Microbiota and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents (MMM-Study) : A protocol for an observational longitudinal case-control study

• Published in: PLOS ONE
• Main Authors: Asbjornsdottir, Birna, Lauth, Bertrand, Fasano, Alessio, Thorsdottir, Inga, Karlsdottir, Ingibjorg, Gudmundsson, Larus S., Gottfredsson, Magnus, Smarason, Orri, Sigurðardóttir, Sigurveig Þ, Halldorsson, Thorhallur I., Marteinsson, Viggo Thor, Gudmundsdottir, Valborg, Birgisdottir, Bryndis Eva
• Other Authors: Faculty of Medicine, Women's and Childrens's Services, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, Other departments, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Psychology, University of Iceland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Barna- og unglingageðlæknisfræði; Næringarfræðingar; Smitsjúkdómalæknisfræði; Ónæmisfræði; Adolescent; Case-Control Studies; Child; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics; Humans; Meals; Mental Health; Observational Studies as Topic; RNA; Ribosomal; 16S/genetics; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/4083; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0273855

Funding Information: This manuscript was partially funded by grant European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, grant GEMMA 825033 as well as by the University of Iceland Research Fund and The Landspitali University Hospital Scientific Fund. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Asbjornsdottir et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Recent studies indicate that the interplay between diet, intestinal microbiota composition, and intestinal permeability can impact mental health. More than 10% of children and adolescents in Iceland suffer from mental disorders, and rates of psychotropics use are very high. The aim of this novel observational longitudinal case-control study, “Meals, Microbiota and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents (MMM-Study)” is to contribute to the promotion of treatment options for children and adolescents diagnosed with mental disorders through identification of patterns that may affect the symptoms. All children and adolescents, 5-15 years referred to the outpatient clinic of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department at The National University Hospital in Reykjavik, Iceland, for one year (n≈150) will be invited to participate. There are two control groups, i.e., sex-matched children from the same postal area (n≈150) and same parent siblings (full siblings) in the same household close in age +/- 3 years (n<150). A three-day food diary, rating scales for mental health, and multiple questionnaires will be completed. Biosamples (fecal-, urine-, saliva-, blood samples, and buccal swab) will be collected and used for 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of the oral and gut microbiome, measurements of serum factors, quantification of urine metabolites and host genotype, respectively. For longitudinal follow-up, data collection will be repeated after three years in the same groups. ...