title: Inflammatory biomarkers and spontaneous preterm birth among obese women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify associations between second-trimester serum inflammatory biomarkers and preterm birth among obese women.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this nested case-control study, we compared 65 serum inflammatory biomarkers in obese women whose pregnancies resulted in early spontaneous preterm birth (<32 weeks gestation, n = 34) to obese women whose pregnancies resulted in term birth (n = 34). These women were selected from a larger population-based California cohort. Random forest and classification and regression tree techniques were employed to identify biomarkers of importance, and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Random forest and classification and regression tree techniques found that soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (sVEGFR3), soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha-chain (sIL-2RA) and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-1 (sTNFR1) were related to preterm birth. Using multivariable logistic regression to compare preterm cases and term controls, decreased serum levels of sVEGFR3 and increased serum levels of sIL-2RA and sTNFR1 were associated with increased risk of preterm birth among obese women, aOR = 3.2 (95% CI: 1.0-9.9), aOR = 2.8 (95% CI: 0.9-9.0), and aOR = 4.1 (95% CI: 1.2-14.1), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this pilot study, we identified three serum biomarkers indicative of inflammation to be associated with spontaneous preterm birth among obese women: sVEGFR3, sIL-2RA and sTNFR1.
authors.affiliation: a Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine , Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine , Palo Alto , CA , USA .
authors.forename: Matthew B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Wallenstein
authors.affiliation: b Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics , UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine , San Francisco , CA , USA , and.
authors.forename: Laura L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Jelliffe-Pawlowski
authors.affiliation: a Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine , Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine , Palo Alto , CA , USA .
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: a Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine , Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine , Palo Alto , CA , USA .
authors.forename: Suzan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Carmichael
authors.affiliation: a Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine , Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine , Palo Alto , CA , USA .
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.affiliation: c Department of Epidemiology , University of Iowa , Iowa City , IA , USA.
authors.forename: Kelli K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Ryckman
authors.affiliation: a Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine , Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine , Palo Alto , CA , USA .
authors.forename: Gary M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Shaw
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood*; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second / Q000097:blood; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Inflammation; inflammatory markers; obesity; preterm birth; soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha-chain; soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-1; vascular endothelial growth factor; vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3