NIH awards UMass Amherst epidemiologist a $2.1 million grant

NIH awards UMass Amherst epidemiologist a $2.1 million grant

A University of Massachusetts Amherst epidemiologist has received a five-year, $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue research aimed at understanding how physical and mental health during pregnancy may help predict cardiovascular and mental health disorders in middle age.

The demands of pregnancy can act as a “stress test” that reveals a predisposition to future cardiovascular disease. We believe that pregnancy complications may also indicate a predisposition to future depressive disorders.”

Lisa Chasan-Taber, Professor and Chair, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Chasan-Taber will lead the project and work with UMass Amherst neuroscientists Rebecca Spencer and Jerrold Meyer, professor and professor emeritus of psychology and brain sciences, respectively.

“We will prospectively examine whether pregnancy complications provide a meaningful opportunity for early efforts to prevent cardiovascular disease,” says Chasan-Taber.

The research team will examine the association of pregnancy complications and prenatal mental health with cardiometabolic and mental health among middle-aged Hispanics of Puerto Rican heritage living in the continental United States. Among Hispanics, Puerto Ricans have the highest prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and cardiometabolic risk factors, as well as a population growth rate three times higher than that of the entire U.S. population.

“We hypothesize that pregnancy complications in mid-adult Puerto Rican women are associated with poorer cardiometabolic health and poorer mental health status,” says Chasan-Taber.

The researchers will use data collected during their previous prospective study, Proyecto Buena Salud (PBS), conducted by Chasan-Taber from 2006 to 2011. In this study, Chasan-Taber recruited 1,627 pregnant women of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent who received prenatal care in western Massachusetts.

The PBS study provided new evidence that pregnancy complications and prenatal depression were common among Puerto Ricans and were significantly associated with negative maternal and child outcomes. PBS participants have now reached middle adulthood, providing an opportunity to analyze whether health during pregnancy can predict other health outcomes in middle age.

Researchers estimate that 1,096 of the original PBS participants will take part in the new study. Bilingual and bicultural staff collect biomarkers for insulin resistance, inflammation, lipids, adiposity, blood pressure and chronic physiological stress (hair cortisol concentrations). Participants will also be surveyed to measure depression, psychosocial stress and anxiety.

The team will use actigraphy, which monitors sleep and activity cycles with a wrist-worn sensor, to test their hypothesis that poor sleep and low physical activity may mediate the association between pregnancy complications and subsequent cardiometabolic health.

Chasan-Taber concludes: "Ultimately, we hope that the results of our study will help inform culturally sensitive prenatal interventions for early childhood prevention of future chronic diseases in this understudied and particularly vulnerable population."

Source:

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

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