Maternal metabolic risk factors and prognosticators for offspring affected by congenital heart disease

Summary

Congenital anomalies are structural problems that babies are born with. More than 2% of babies are affected, with congenital heart disease the most common. However, our understanding of why these structural problems occur is limited. Improving our knowledge of risk factors in mothers of children with congenital heart disease is essential to help prevent and treat the condition. One method of achieving this aim is using metabolomics. This technique allows testing of important biological substances (metabolites) in the blood that help us to understand how cells in the body are functioning. We aim to perform metabolomic testing on blood from mothers of children with congenital heart disease and compare these results to mothers of children without the condition.

We will also assess whether metabolites vary depending on the severity of congenital heart disease. Differences in the metabolites measured in the blood of mothers of children with congenital heart disease could help us to identify risk factors and pathways for the condition by implicating biological pathways that differ in these mothers. Further study of these pathways should help improve our understanding of the causes of congenital heart disease and provide basis for development of treatments and preventative strategies. They may also help in prediction and diagnosis of the condition.