ArticleBiological research for nursing2018
Associations Among Obesity, Inflammation, and Tryptophan Catabolism in Pregnancy.
Article in Biological research for nursing, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Involvement of Serotonin in the Obesity Pathway-A Last Decade Systematic Review of the Literature.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- A sum of its parts: A systematic review evaluating biopsychosocial and behavioral determinants of perinatal depression.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Psychiatric Manifestations of Coeliac Disease, a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- A Functional SNP in the Promoter Region of Ovine IDO2 Associated With Melatonin Levels via Affecting Transcription Activity by CLOCK.Animal genetics · 2026Article
- The placental tryptophan pathway across gestation: implications for pregnancy outcomes.Human reproduction update · 2026Review
- Tryptophan Metabolism in Obesity: Pathways, Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Perspectives.Current medical science · 2025Review
- The Association of Perceived Stress, Glucocorticoids Receptors, and Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Gene Expression During Pregnancy.Biological research for nursing · 2025Article
- The Microbiome and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Depression in pregnant Hispanic women: Risk factors, pregnancy outcomes and plasma cytokines.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Associations between maternal microbiome, metabolome and incidence of low-birth weight in Guatemalan participants from the Women First Trial.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- Periconceptional Non-medical Maternal Determinants Influence the Tryptophan Metabolism: The Rotterdam Periconceptional Cohort (Predict Study).International journal of tryptophan research : IJTR · 2024Article
- Tryptophan Metabolism in Obesity: The Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase-1 Activity and Therapeutic Options.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Review
- Fetal Sex as Moderating Factor for the Relationship Between Maternal Childhood Trauma and Salivary Kynurenic Acid and Tryptophan in Pregnancy: A Pilot Study.International journal of tryptophan research : IJTR · 2024Article
- A sum of its parts: A systematic review evaluating biopsychosocial and behavioral determinants of perinatal depression.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
- Article
- Evaluation of serum neopterin, periostin, Tenascin-C, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 levels in obese pregnant womenTurkish journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2022Article
- The Kynurenine Pathway Metabolites in Cord Blood Positively Correlate With Early Childhood Adiposity.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2022Article
- Tryptophan Metabolism Is Associated with BMI and Adipose Tissue Mass and Linked to Metabolic Disease in Pediatric Obesity.Nutrients · 2022Article
- The Role of the Kynurenine Pathway in the (Patho) physiology of Maternal Pregnancy and Fetal Outcomes: A Systematic Review.International journal of tryptophan research : IJTR · 2022Review
- Inhibition of 2-Oxoglutarate Dehydrogenase as a Chemical Model of Acute Hypobaric Hypoxia.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate relationships among obesity in pregnancy and plasma levels of tryptophan (TRP) and kynurenine (KYN), inflammatory markers, and depressed mood.
methodsPregnant women ( N = 374) were enrolled, and data were collected at a mean gestation of 20 weeks in this cross-sectional study. Plasma was analyzed for TRP, KYN, neopterin, and nitrite levels. Women completed demographic and mood scales.
resultsThere was a statistically significant inverse correlation between body mass index (BMI) and TRP and positive correlations between BMI and KYN and the kynurenine/tryptophan (KYN/TRP) ratio. Neopterin was correlated with KYN/TRP, suggesting that the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO-1) enzyme was activated. The correlations of neopterin and nitrite with BMI were too small to be clinically meaningful but may provide mechanistic insight. There was a correlation between depressed mood and nitrite levels. Depressed mood was also associated with lower TRP levels. When the sample was divided into pregnant women with or without obesity, TRP was significantly lower and the KYN/TRP ratio was significantly higher in the women with obesity.
conclusionThe pro-inflammatory state of obesity in pregnancy may drive activation of IDO-1, resulting in diversion of TRP away from serotonin and melatonin production and toward KYN metabolites. This alteration could contribute to depression, impaired sleep, increased production of excitotoxic neurotransmitters, and reinforcement of a pro-inflammatory state in pregnancy.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.