Assessing the association of the newborn metabolic state with severity of subsequent respiratory tract infection may provide important insights on infection pathogenesis. In this multi-site birth cohort study, we identified newborn metabolites associated with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in the first year of life in a discovery cohort and assessed for replication in two independent cohorts. Increased citrulline concentration was associated with decreased odds of LRTI (discovery cohort: aOR 0.83 [95% CI 0.70-0.99], p = 0.04; replication cohorts: aOR 0.58 [95% CI 0.28-1.22], p = 0.15). While our findings require further replication and investigation of mechanisms of action, they identify a novel target for LRTI prevention and treatment.
Keywords: citrulline; infancy; lower respiratory tract infection; metabolites; newborn screening (NBS).
© 2022 Snyder, Gebretsadik, Turi, McKennan, Havstad, Jackson, Ober, Lynch, McCauley, Seroogy, Zoratti, Khurana Hershey, Berdnikovs, Cunningham, Summar, Gern and Hartert.