Multi-omics analysis of the gut microbiome and metabolites associated with the psychoneurological symptom cluster in children with cancer receiving chemotherapy

Table 1 Participants’ demographic and clinical characteristics

Variables	Children with cancer		Healthy controls (n = 14)	p-value*
Variables	T0 (n = 21)	T₁ (n = 12)^c	Healthy controls (n = 14)	p-value*
Age in years, mean (SD)^a	13.24 (3.85)	13.75 (3.22)	13.07 (3.97)	0.90
Age categories, n (%)^b				0.68
7–11 years	8 (38.1)	4 (33.3)	5 (35.7)
12–17 years	12 (57.1)	8 (66.7)	7 (50.0)
≥ 18 years	1 (4.8)		2 (14.3)
Age at diagnosis, mean (SD)	13 (3.69)		NA
Sex, n (%)^b				0.09
Male	14 (66.7)	9 (75.0)	5 (35.7)
Female	7 (33.3)	3 (25.0)	9 (64.3)
Race, n (%)^b				0.96
White	14 (66.7)	8 (66.7)	12 (85.7)
Black	3 (14.3)	1 (8.3)	1 (7.1)
Other	4 (19.0)	3 (25.0)	1 (7.2)
Ethnicity, n (%)^b				0.80
Hispanic	3 (14.3)	2 (16.7)	3 (21.4)
Non-Hispanic	17 (81.0)	10 (83.3)	11 (78.6)
Other	1 (4.7)	0	0
Health insurance, n (%)^b			NA
Public	11 (52.4)	7 (58.3)
Private	10 (47.6)	5 (41.7)
Cancer type, n (%)^b			NA
Sarcomas	16 (76.2)	9 (75.0)
Other	5 (23.8)	3 (25.0)
Surgery, n (%)^b			NA
Yes	17 (81)	9 (75.0)
No	4 (19.0)	3 (25.0)
Antibiotic use, n (%)^b				< 0.001
Yes	18 (85.7)	11 (91.7)	0 (0)
No	3 (14.3)	1 (8.3)	14 (100)
Preterm birth, n (%)^b				0.99
Yes	1 (4.8)	1 (8.3)	1 (7.1)
No	20 (95.2)	11 (91.7)	13 (92.9)
Obesity status, n (%)^b				0.99
Yes	1 (4.8)	1 (8.3)	0
No	20 (95.2)	11 (91.7)	14 (100)
Diabetes, n (%)^b				0.99
Yes	1 (4.8)	1 (8.3)	0
No	20 (95.2)	11 (91.7)	14 (100)
Asthma, n (%)^b				0.64
Yes	3 (14.3)	3 (25.0)	1 (7.1)
No	18 (85.7)	9 (75.0)	13 (92.9)
Diary intake intolerance, n (%)^b				0.99
Yes	2 (9.5)	1 (8.3)	1 (7.1)
No	19 (90.5)	11 (91.7)	13 (92.9)
Lactose intolerance, n (%)^b				0.40
Yes	0	0	1 (7.1)
No	21 (100)	12 (100)	13 (92.9)
Probiotics use, n (%)^b				0.26
Yes	3 (14.3)	1 (8.3)	0
No	18 (85.7)	11 (91.7)	14 (100)

T₀: pre-cycle two chemotherapy; T₁: post chemotherapy (completion of all chemotherapy); NA: not applicable; SD: standard deviation
*p-value refers to healthy controls vs. pre-cycle 2 chemotherapy for cancer cases
^aIndependent samples t-test (for continuous variables)
^bPearson Chi-Square or Fisher’s Exact test (for categorical variables) were used to compare demographics and clinical variables between children with cancer and healthy controls
^c12 children with cancer completed the gut microbiome data were included

ISSN: 1479-5876