Long-term alterations in serum metabolite profiles in women with a history of preeclampsia -FINNCARE study.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a multifaceted pregnancy condition which increases the risk of cardiometabolic diseases later in life. Long-term follow-up data on metabolome utilizing novel metabolomic techniques are needed to gain insights into metabolism after PE and non-PE pregnancies for identifying potential areas of investigation that could assist in predicting and managing future health risks. The objective of the current study was to characterize long-term metabolome in women with and without a history of PE. Non-targeted metabolomics (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, LC-MS) was applied to determine whether the metabolomic profile of fasting serum samples differed between PE (n = 101) and control (n = 52) women 11.6 ± 1.1 years (mean ± SD) after pregnancy. Statistical analyses, including linear models and correlation analyses, were conducted to identify differences in metabolite abundances and associations with clinical variables. Women with a history of PE exhibited higher levels of acylcarnitines, specific dipeptides, and amino acids such as citrulline, aspartic acid and glutamic acid. They also had increased levels of certain steroids compared to control women. Conversely, lower levels of dicarboxylic acids, phospholipids, and specific amino acids like histidine and asparagine were observed in PE women. Correlation analysis revealed associations between metabolites and clinical variables such as body mass index, fat percentage and blood pressure, particularly in PE women. This study provides a unique long-term follow-up of metabolic alterations in women with a history of PE and several of the identified metabolites have previously been linked to cardiometabolic pathways, including mitochondrial dysfunction and endothelial function. Some of the observed metabolite alterations were associated with higher BMI and adiposity, particularly in women with prior PE, indicating that both pregnancy-related factors and metabolic comorbidities may influence the metabolomic profile.