Pre-Diagnostic Changes in the Metabolome of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Serum metabolites reflect genetics, environmental exposures, and the gut microbiome. We analyzed changes in the serum metabolome up to 14 years before the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to identify early biomarkers and uncover pathophysiological changes during the pre-diagnostic phase.

The Danish PREDICT cohort was established by cross-linking nationwide health registries with the Danish National Biobank to identify patients with pre-diagnostic serum samples. A total of 169 individuals with IBD (72 Crohn's disease [CD]; 97 ulcerative colitis [UC]) and 169 matched controls were included for untargeted profiling to investigate pre-diagnostic alterations in the serum metabolome, timing of metabolomic changes, and their ability to predict IBD.

A total of 1206 metabolites were significantly altered prior to IBD diagnosis (P_adj < .05). For CD, 882 metabolites were significantly altered, with significant enrichment of eicosanoids, fatty acids, and glycerophosphocholines, including bioactive lipids linked to inflammation. Of these 882 metabolites, 570 (65%) were also nominally associated with UC. Metabolites were altered up to 14 years prior to diagnosis and predicted CD with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.78.

We identified alterations in >1000 metabolites up to 14 years prior to diagnosis of IBD, most pronounced in individuals with later CD. Our findings suggest a long pre-clinical phase of IBD, where mucosal breakdown contributes to production of inflammation-modulating lipids.