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Comparative analysis of gut microbiome alterations in early- and late-onset preeclampsia: A case control study

Sofie Meijer, L. Hugerth, M. Nouri, Lena Erlandsson, S. Lavasani, Stefan R. Hansson

PLoS ONE, 2026

37 participants · 1 citation

Abstract

Preeclampsia (PE) is a complication during pregnancy characterized by hypertension, organ damage, and systemic inflammation. Increasing evidence suggests that the gut microbiome may play a role in the pathophysiology of PE. However, previous studies on the gut microbiome have generally overlooked the distinction between subgroups of PE, although clinical manifestations may differ. Also, most studies have not used deep sequencing techniques. Therefore, this study aimed to explore further potential differences in gut dysbiosis in different PE subgroups compared to controls using shotgun metagenomics. We studied the bacterial gut microbiome using shotgun metagenomic sequencing in 37 pregnant patients in the third trimester from a Swedish cohort, separating patients according to subtype (healthy controls N = 21, late-onset PE N = 8, early-onset PE N = 8). Differential relative abundances and alpha diversity were evaluated using Wilcoxon rank sum test, and beta diversity was evaluated using PERMANOVA. Multiple linear regression was used to study associations between gut microbiome composition differences and clinical parameters. Late-onset PE and early-onset PE were both associated with significantly different beta diversity compared to controls. Differences remained significant after adjusting for age, and were not affected by gestational age, BMI or parity. Alpha diversity was lower in late-onset PE compared to controls. While no significant differences in taxonomic abundances…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 37 participants or records.

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