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The First Steps Matter: Lifestyle, Nutrition, and Microbiota in Pediatric...
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The First Steps Matter: Lifestyle, Nutrition, and Microbiota in Pediatric Health

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Pediatric Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 July 2026 | Viewed by 746

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dana-Teodora Anton-Păduraru

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mother and Child Medicine, Discipline of Pediatrics, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Interests: nutritional diseases; inborn errors of metabolism (IEM); clinic nutrition; cystic fibrosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Olivia Dorneanu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iasi, 700115 Iasi, Romania
2. Sfânta Parascheva Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases, 700116 Iasi, Romania
Interests: human microbiota; antibacterial resistance; microbiological diagnosis in human infections
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The early years of life are important for the health, particularly in the realms of lifestyle, nutrition, and microbiota, which play significant roles in pediatric health. Different studies have mentioned that the first 1000 days are essential for optimal brain development, with implications for mental health and quality of life. The aim and scope of this Special Issue are to publish essential research that elucidates the interaction between lifestyle, nutrition, and microbiota and the role they play in enhancing pediatric health.

We invite colleagues to present their experience regarding the interplay between nutrition during the first 1000 days of life, microbiome composition and the development of noncommunicable diseases, as well as the impact of macronutrients on the gut microbiota and their relevance to health and the role of nutrition and gut microbiome in childhood brain development and behavior. This Special Issue welcomes submissions of original research papers, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, case studies, and expert opinions.

Dr. Dana-Teodora Anton-Păduraru
Prof. Dr. Olivia Dorneanu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • children
  • nutrition
  • eating behavior
  • microbiota
  • lifestyle
  • first 1000 days of life
  • brain development
  • noncommunicable diseases

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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17 pages, 2177 KB  
Review
The Gut Microbiome in Congenital Heart Disease: Dysbiosis, Intestinal Barrier Injury, and Translational Opportunities Across the Childhood—A Narrative Review
by Alina-Costina Luca, Dana Elena Mindru, Solange Tamara Rosu, Cosmin Diaconescu, Eduard Vasile Rosu, Elena Țarcă, Heidrun Adumitrăchioaiei and Dana-Teodora Anton-Paduraru
Children 2026, 13(5), 668; https://doi.org/10.3390/children13050668 (registering DOI) - 11 May 2026
Viewed by 265
Abstract
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common congenital anomaly worldwide and is associated with substantial infant morbidity and mortality. This narrative review synthesizes evidence linking CHD to alterations in the gut microbiome across neonatal, perioperative, and chronic stages and highlights a gut–heart–immune [...] Read more.
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common congenital anomaly worldwide and is associated with substantial infant morbidity and mortality. This narrative review synthesizes evidence linking CHD to alterations in the gut microbiome across neonatal, perioperative, and chronic stages and highlights a gut–heart–immune framework in which microbial imbalance, intestinal barrier dysfunction, and systemic inflammation may interact to influence clinical outcomes. Early infancy represents a potential window for microbiome and immune development, shaped by delivery mode and feeding, with many breastfed infants developing a Bifidobacterium-dominant community supported by human milk oligosaccharides. In CHD, abnormal splanchnic perfusion and hypoxemia, together with intensive care and perioperative exposures (fasting, delayed enteral feeding, antibiotics, acid suppression), may predispose to dysbiosis and impaired barrier function. Cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass can act as a “second hit,” with evidence of increased gut permeability, endotoxemia, inflammatory activation, and biomarker signals of enterocyte injury and tight-junction disruption. Clinically, these mechanisms align with gut-sensitive outcomes including necrotizing enterocolitis (especially in ductal-dependent lesions), feeding intolerance, and postoperative infection-risk phenotypes. Interventions show mixed evidence: human milk exposure appears protective for NEC risk, synbiotics demonstrated outcome benefits in a randomized trial of cyanotic CHD infants, while probiotics may modify dysbiosis without consistently preventing intestinal injury and require careful safety frameworks. Key research gaps include the need for longitudinal stage-based cohorts, integration of microbiome profiling with barrier injury and perfusion markers, and standardized safety monitoring in intervention trials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The First Steps Matter: Lifestyle, Nutrition, and Microbiota in Pediatric Health)
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