165722 20260123143856.0 doi 10.1038/s41598-025-29572-4 sideral 147306 ART-2026-147306 eng Frempong, Gifty Animwaa Uncovering the metabolic impact of acute psychological stress in young adults 2026 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted Stress is associated with the onset of various neurological disorders, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety. Although extensively studied, the metabolic changes triggered in response to stress remain unclear. We conducted a descriptive observational study on acute stress responses in university students, combining psychometric, biochemical, and untargeted metabolomic analyses, along with machine learning predictions. In this study, forty participants underwent both relaxation and stress induction through a modified Trier Social Stress Test. Validated psychometric tests confirmed proper induction of both states. Although most biomarkers show significant changes under acute stress state, the machine learning predictive model identified salivary α-amylase and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-state (STAI-s) as potential stress markers. Additionally, several metabolic pathways, including steroid hormone biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, presented alterations under acute mental stress. Our findings highlight the impact of acute mental stress on multiple metabolic pathways directly implicated in stress-related disorders. These findings advance the understanding of the adverse effects systematically associated with stress and provide evidence supporting the potential role of salivary α-amylase and STAI-s as stress markers. Yet, they should be regarded as important hypothesis generators. However, further studies are needed for final validation. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/T39-23R info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EUR/MICINN/TED2021-131106B-I00 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by-nc-nd https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Goñi, Guillermina Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-4010-849X Lorenzo-Tejedor, Mónica De la Cámara, Concepción Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-2284-7862 Lázaro, Jesús Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-8742-0072 Mangialavori Rasia, Eugenia Aguiló, Jordi Bailon, Raquel Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-1272-0550 Bernal, María Luisa Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-8222-1418 1012 410 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Farmac.Fisiol.y Med.L.F. Área Fisiología 5007 520 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Informát.Ingenie.Sistms. Área Ingen.Sistemas y Automát. 1012 315 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Farmac.Fisiol.y Med.L.F. Área Farmacología 1007 745 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Medicina, Psiqu. y Derm. Area Psiquiatría 5008 800 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ingeniería Electrón.Com. Área Teoría Señal y Comunicac. (2026), [44 pp.] Sci. rep. (Nat. Publ. Group) Scientific reports (Nature Publishing Group) 2045-2322 1235417 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/165722/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 1348795 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/165722/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:165722 articulos driver 2026-01-23-14:37:10 ARTICLE