Analysis of Sequential Hair Segments Reflects Changes in the Metabolome Across the Trimesters of Pregnancy

January 2018 in “ Scientific Reports ”

Thibaut Delplancke, Jamie V. de Seymour, Chao Tong, Karolina Sulek, Yinyin Xia, Hua Zhang, Ting-Li Han, Philip N. Baker

hair segments metabolome chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolites gestational diabetes mellitus

TLDR Hair analysis can reveal metabolic changes and potential pregnancy complications.

The study analyzed hair segments from 175 pregnant women in New Zealand to investigate changes in the metabolome across pregnancy trimesters. Using chromatography-mass spectrometry, researchers found significant differences in 56 metabolites between the first and second trimesters and 62 between the first and third trimesters. Additionally, specific metabolites in the second and third trimesters were linked to pregnancy complications such as small-for-gestational-age infants and gestational diabetes mellitus. This pilot study suggested that hair metabolome analysis could provide valuable insights into pregnancy-related metabolic changes and help differentiate between healthy pregnancies and those with complications.

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