First and second trimester urinary metabolic profiles and fetal growth restriction: an exploratory nested...

Area of Science:

• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Metabolomics
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Routine prenatal care often misses women at risk for fetal growth restriction (FGR).
• Metabolomics offers potential for early detection of prenatal health issues through metabolite analysis.
• Previous studies suggested first-trimester urine metabolites could predict third-trimester FGR.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate urinary metabolic profiles in the first and second trimesters for predicting third-trimester FGR.
• To analyze specific metabolites (tyrosine, acetate, formate, trimethylamine) in a US population cohort.

Main Methods:

• Nested case-control study within The Infant Development and the Environment Study (TIDES).
• Identified 53 FGR cases and 106 matched controls.
• Assessed urinary metabolite concentrations using NMR spectroscopy in first and second trimester samples.

Main Results:

• No significant association was found between the four targeted urinary metabolites and the odds of FGR.
• Exploratory analyses of metabolic profiles also showed no significant differences.
• FGR cases delivered earlier and had lower birthweights compared to controls.

Conclusions:

• First and second trimester urinary metabolite concentrations did not predict FGR in this study.
• Findings highlight the need for more rigorous research before clinical application of metabolomics in obstetrics.
• Current metabolomic approaches require further validation for reliable FGR prediction.