Metabolomics profile of umbilical cord blood is associated with maternal pre-pregnant obesity in a prospective multi-ethnic cohort displaying health disparities

Maternal obesity has become a growing global health concern that impacts fetal health and subsequently predisposes the offspring to medical conditions later in life. However, the molecular link between abnormal fetal metabolomic profiles and maternal obesity has not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, we report new discoveries from the newborn cord blood metabolomes associated with a case-control maternal obesity cohort, collected from multi-ethnic populations in Hawaii, including rarely reported Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders (NHPI). This cohort displays significant maternal obesity disparities by subjects residential area average income and health insurance. An elastic net penalized logistic regression model was constructed to associate cord blood metabolomics and demographic/physiological information to maternal obesity, with accuracy as high as 0.947. We identify 29 metabolites as early-life biomarkers manifesting intrauterine effect of maternal obesity.