A study protocol for the exploration of metabolic syndrome in adults born with small weight for gestational age

Objective The rising prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors, predictive of type 2 diabetes, relates largely to increasing obesity and sedentary lifestyle, but also to early metabolic life events. Considering the consequences on health of developing MetS in young adulthood, the objective of this study is to better characterize and understand MetS phenotypes in a young adult born with small weight for gestational age (SGA). Methods A nested case-control study is designed within the French community-based Haguenau cohort, including 92 male and female young SGA adults divided into cases (with MetS at follow-up, n=46) and controls (free of MetS, n=46), matched for age and sex, all free of MetS at baseline. Serum metabolic signatures will be first determined at the end of follow-up (30 years of age) to characterise phenotypes related to MetS using an untargeted mass spectrometry metabolomic approach. Results will be compared to those obtained in a population of adults born with adequate weight for gestational age (AGA), matched for age and sex, to reveal the specific part of phenotypes related to the imprint of the foetal environment. Lastly, the baseline signatures (20 y.o.) will be identified to explore early dysfunctions around 10 years before diagnosis and evaluate the capacities of serum metabolites to predict evolution towards MetS in SGA. Ethics and dissemination The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the ethical committee of the University of Paris-St Louis, and all subjects gave written informed consent. Research findings will be disseminated through peer reviewed publications and at national and international conferences with domain-specific societies, to researchers, clinicians, and policy markers sharing findings. This project was supported by the ‘Fondation Francophone de Recherche sur le Diabète’.