Maltreatment exposure is associated with metabolomic disease risk scores in children.

Abstract

Exposure to maltreatment during childhood is highly prevalent and a major risk factor for cardio-metabolic disorders that emerge in adult life, as well as for earlier mortality. Metabolite profiling technologies have emerged as a promising tool to detect biochemical aberrations occurring before the onset of symptoms or diseases to elucidate pathophysiology and aid risk prediction. Here, we tested the association in children between maltreatment exposure and metabolomics-based scores that predict cardio-metabolic diseases and mortality in later life. Maltreatment exposure was assessed using the using the Maternal Interview for the Classification of Maltreatment [MICM]. In N = 144 children exposed to maltreatment and a comparison group of N = 165 children without maltreatment experience (mean age = 8.04 years, range = 3.00-12.06), metabolomics assays were performed from fasting plasma samples, and risk scores (Diabetes, MetaboAge and MetaboHealth) for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases as well as mortality were computed. Maltreatment exposure was significantly and positively associated with all three scores after adjusting for sex and age. Metabolomics-based risk scores offer a promising avenue for guiding risk stratification and early precision interventions aimed at preventing or reversing biological risk trajectories associated with childhood maltreatment exposure before disease onset.