Severity of atopic disease inversely correlates with intestinal microbiota diversity and butyrate‐producing bacteria

The reports on atopic diseases and microbiota in early childhood remain contradictory, and both decreased and increased microbiota diversity have been associated with atopic eczema. In this study, the intestinal microbiota signatures associated with the severity of eczema in 6‐month‐old infants were characterized. Further, the changes in intestinal microbiota composition related to the improvement of this disease 3 months later were assessed. The severity of eczema correlated inversely with microbiota diversity (r = −0.54, P = 0.002) and with the abundance of butyrate‐producing bacteria (r = −0.52, P = 0.005). During the 3‐month follow‐up, microbiota diversity increased (P