Clinical and metabolomics characterization of hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the Delta and Omicron epidemiological waves in Mexico

COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and quickly escalated into a global pandemic by early 2020. As of mid-2024, it has affected over 676 million people worldwide, leading to more than 6.8 million deaths. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of COVID-19 metabolomics studies have revealed consistent biomarkers reflecting immune response, inflammation, energy metabolism, oxidative stress, and liver dysfunction. COVID-19’s impact has varied across epidemiological waves. Methods: In this study, we evaluated clinical, laboratory, and metabolomic data from 42 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Mexico during the third and fourth waves (Delta and Omicron). A targeted metabolomics assay (TMIC MEGA Assay) was used to quantify 529 metabolites and lipids in plasma samples. The metabolomic profiles of these 42 samples were compared according to different factors such as age, gender, comorbidities, and vaccination status. Additionally, 82 hospitalized patients from the Alfa COVID-19 strain (2020) were compared with the 42 patients from the Delta and Omicron epidemiological waves. Results: Among the 21 families of compounds evaluated in this study, amino acids and lipids were the most dysregulated when comparing age, gender, comorbidities, vaccination status, and epidemiological waves. Conclusion: This comprehensive analysis enhances the/our understanding of COVID-19’s clinical and metabolic impact across different epidemic waves, aiding in the identification of metabolic factors affecting patient outcomes.

由SARS-CoV-2病毒引起的COVID-19疫情首次于2019年12月在中国武汉被发现，并迅速于2020年初演变为全球性大流行。截至2024年中，该疫情已影响全球超过6.76亿人，导致超过680万人死亡。对COVID-19代谢组学研究的系统评价和荟萃分析揭示了反映免疫反应、炎症、能量代谢、氧化应激和肝功能障碍的稳定生物标志物。COVID-19的影响在流行病学各波次中存在差异。研究方法：在本研究中，我们评估了墨西哥42名住院COVID-19患者在第三和第四波（Delta和Omicron）期间的临床、实验室和代谢组学数据。使用靶向代谢组学检测（TMIC MEGA检测）对血浆样本中的529种代谢物和脂质进行定量分析。根据年龄、性别、合并症和疫苗接种状态等不同因素，对这些42个样本的代谢组学特征进行了比较。此外，还将82名患有Alfa COVID-19株（2020年）的住院患者与42名Delta和Omicron流行病学波次的病例进行了比较。研究结果：在研究中评估的21个化合物家族中，氨基酸和脂质在比较年龄、性别、合并症、疫苗接种状态和流行病学波次时表现出最严重的失调。结论：本综合分析加深了我们对COVID-19在不同流行病学波次中临床和代谢影响的认知，有助于识别影响患者预后的代谢因素。