Circulating Very Long-Chain Saturated Fatty Acids in Early Pregnancy: Association With Blood Pressure and Weight Gain

To examine the associations of circulating very long-chain saturated fatty acids (VLSFAs) with maternal blood pressure (BP), weight gain, and incidence of gestational hypertension (GH)/preeclampsia (PE) in a retrospective longitudinal study.

Blood samples from 92 pregnant women, including normotensive (n = 64) and hypertensive pregnancies (GH/PE, n = 28), from the International Trial of Antioxidants in the Prevention of PE (INTAPP; ISRCTN 85024310) were used at 8-14 weeks (visit 1) and 20-24 weeks (visit 2). Plasma Fatty acids (FA) profiles were measured by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Partial correlations and mixed models assessed BP and FA associations. Logistic regression models were used to assess GH/PE risks using FAs.

Weight gain adjusted for pre-pregnancy BMI was inversely correlated to arachidic acid at visit 1 (r = -0.364, P < 0.001). VLSFAs, arachidic acid, and tricosylic acid were negatively correlated with both systolic BP and diastolic BP (DBP) at visit 1 (r < -0.274, P < 0.03). Higher levels of VLSFAs were also associated with the lower quartile of DBP (P = 0.01). Integrating clinical parameters with FA profiles (palmitoleic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid) presented a promising predictive model for GH/PE.

VLSFA levels in circulating phospholipids, especially arachidic acid, are associated with weight gain and BP, and with tricosylic acid, could be linked to a potentially protective role within FAs in a more complex lipid signature against hypertension in pregnancy.