Discussion
NEC
The results of the present study corroborate previous findings, according to which the early gut microbiome composition in children born preterm is distinct from that in children born full-term.One in ten neonates are born prematurely, and approximately 85% of these are born moderately or late preterm, corresponding to approximately 12–13 million babies globally each year.In general, the intestinal microbiome in preterm infants is characterized by delayed colonization, fewer bacterial species, less diversity, and an abundance of opportunistic and potentially pathogenic bacteria.The delayed colonization with The differences in gut colonization patterns between full-term and preterm infants are often thought to be mediated by detrimental environmental exposures such as cesarean section delivery, shorter or no contact with the mother´s microbes at delivery, early antibiotic exposure, treatment in NICU environment, and longer hospitalization; with several of these factors often accumulating in preterm infants.Alterations in the compositional development of the gut microbiome of newborns have been shown to predispose them to unfavorable conditions later in life. These are not only limited to short-term morbidities, including NEC and poor postnatal growthThe undisputed impact of deviation in the early gut microbiome composition on later health calls for safe and effective modes of microbiome modulation.The main strength of our study was the unique features of the full-term reference group with documented long-term health. The children in this reference group were born in the same hospital during the same period as the preterm population. The fact that 21 of the 206 fecal samples did not contain enough bacterial DNA and were excluded from further analysis may be considered a weakness of the study. It should be acknowledged that all the excluded samples were obtained from preterm subjects, which may reflect the delayed colonization of the gut microbiota in our preterm population compared to full-term infants.Overall, the results of this study provide intriguing information about the establishment of the gut microbiome in moderately and late preterm infants throughout the first year of life and confirm the favorable effects of early probiotic and prebiotic interventions on gut microbiome maturation. In our study population, the compositional development of the gut microbiome and specifically colonization with 