(P09-23-26) Serum High-Resolution Metabolomic Signatures Linked to Food Insecurity in Adult U.S. Women Living With HIV

Objectives: Food insecurity (FI) is the limited ability to acquire nutritionally adequate and safe foods in socially acceptable ways. In lower-income persons living with HIV in the U.S., FI is associated with obesity, low-quality diets, inflammation and worse HIV clinical outcomes. Little is known regarding FI associations with systemic human metabolism or blood levels of nutrients. We used serum high-resolution metabolomics (HRM) to determine metabolomic signatures associated with FI in women with HIV (WWH).

Methods: WWH (n=96, median age = 49.0 yrs and BMI = 30.9 kg/m²) from the Women’s Interagency HIV Study were studied. FI was measured using the validated USDA Food Security Survey Module and serum HRM was analyzed using dual-column liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HILIC+ and C18- electrospray modes). T-tests were used to determine FI group differences in a targeted quantified panel of health- and nutrition-related serum metabolites, including key nutrients (n=140 metabolites). The same approach was used in an untargeted exploration with subsequent metabolic pathway enrichment analysis.

Results: In the targeted analysis, FI (20% of cohort) was linked to higher serum levels of glucosamine, methylmalonic acid, putrescine, and succinate, and with lower levels of kynurenine, and threonine. A total of 12,382 (HILIC+) and 10,164 (C18-) serum metabolic features were assessed in untargeted analysis. Metabolites significantly associated with FI (HILIC+, n=471; C18-, n=336) were enriched in numerous metabolic pathways, including arginine and proline, aspartate and asparagine, lysine, tryptophan, branched-chain amino acid, urea cycle, and vitamin B6 metabolism; saturated fatty acid beta-oxidation, and the TCA cycle.

Conclusions: In adult WWH in the U.S., targeted serum HRM detects several nutrient-related metabolites that differ by FI status, including those involved in energy metabolism and immunity. FI is also linked to several amino acid-related metabolic pathways, and major pathways involved in energy metabolism.

Funding Sources: National Institutes of Health