(P10-037-24) Maternal Pre-Pregnancy BMI Is Associated With Variations in the Human Milk Metabolome

Objectives: Human milk (HM) contains a variety of low-molecular-weight metabolites that are essential for infant health and may provide insight into the complex metabolic state of the mother. Maternal obesity is associated with metabolic dysfunction and adverse breastfeeding outcomes, but the relationship between maternal BMI and the HM metabolome remains understudied. Therefore, we evaluated the impact of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI on the HM metabolome using data from PREVAIL, a birth cohort in Cincinnati, OH.

Methods: HM samples (n=172) were collected 2 weeks postpartum and subjected to metabolomics analysis using 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) spectroscopy. A total of 59 metabolites were quantified. Metabolite concentrations were log₁₀ transformed to improve skewed distributions before univariate analysis. Maternal BMI was calculated using self-reported pre-pregnancy weight and height and used as an independent continuous variable in our analyses. Simple linear regression was used to identify associations between maternal BMI and HM metabolites.

Results: Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was a significant predictor of 11 metabolites in HM (p < 0.05). These metabolites were associated with energy and fat metabolism, including glucose, 2-oxoglutarate, acetylcarnitine, acetone, and glycerophosphocholine, as well as several amino acids.

Conclusions: Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI is associated with differences in several metabolic pathways reflected in the HM metabolome. Further research will be done to understand how these milk signatures may be related to breastfeeding outcomes.

Funding Sources: PREVAIL was funded by a cooperative agreement with the CDC. This work was supported by the NICHD-funded MOM2CHild study.