Prematurity, Neonatal Complications, and the Development of Childhood Hypertension.

Importance: Preterm children face a higher risk of cardiovascular conditions, including hypertension. However, studies have not isolated the associations of prematurity with cardiovascular conditions from the associations of subsequent complications with cardiovascular conditions, especially among those admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Objective: To investigate prospective associations of prematurity and NICU complications with childhood hypertension while accounting for prenatal and perinatal factors.

Prenatal Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Exposures and Longitudinal Blood Pressure Measurements in Children Aged 3 to 18 Years: Findings From a Racially and Ethnically Diverse US Birth Cohort.

Background: Prenatal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposures may influence offspring blood pressure (BP), but long-term studies in diverse populations remain limited.

Methods: Participants were from the Boston Birth Cohort. We measured PFAS in maternal plasma collected 24 to 72 hours after delivery and extracted children's BP from medical records.

Integration of proteomics with prospective birth cohort to elucidate early life origins of cardiometabolic diseases: rationale, study design, lab assay, and quality control.

There is growing evidence that the plasma proteome provides insights into personal health status at different stages of life. However, limited data are available on high-throughput proteomic studies in pediatric populations, especially, using prospective birth cohorts. We launched a proteomics study in 990 children from a US predominantly urban, low-income, multi-ethnic prospective Boston Birth Cohort (BBC, referred as "BBC proteomics study"), which aimed to leverage proteomics to investigate the biological pathways underlying the link between preterm birth and child long-term cardiometabolic health.

Maternal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and epitope level antibody response to vaccines against measles and rubella in children from the Boston birth cohort.

Background: Previous studies suggest that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may act as immune suppressants. However, research about the impact of PFAS exposure on antibody responses to the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine is limited and inconsistent.

Methods: This report includes 748 mother-child pairs from the Boston Birth Cohort, with 8 PFAS compounds measured in maternal plasma shortly after delivery.

Exposomics: a review of methodologies, applications, and future directions in molecular medicine.

The exposome is the measure of all the exposures of an individual in a lifetime and how those exposures relate to health. Exposomics is the emerging field of research to measure and study the totality of the exposome. Exposomics can assist with molecular medicine by furthering our understanding of how the exposome influences cellular and molecular processes such as gene expression, epigenetic modifications, metabolic pathways, and immune responses.

Associations of early life per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure with body mass index and risk of overweight or obesity at age 2-18 years: Mixture analysis in the prospective Boston Birth Cohort.

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of widespread persistent chemicals, which may have obesogenic effects during the fetal period. This study investigated the long-term association of maternal plasma PFAS concentrations at delivery and their mixture with child body mass index (BMI) and the risk of Overweight or Obesity (OWO) at the age of 2-18 years.

Methods: The study included 1189 mother-child dyads from the prospective Boston Birth Cohort.

Cord plasma metabolomic signatures of prenatal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposures in the Boston Birth Cohort.

Background: Prenatal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposures are associated with adverse offspring health outcomes, yet the underlying pathological mechanisms are unclear. Cord blood metabolomics can identify potentially important pathways associated with prenatal PFAS exposures, providing mechanistic insights that may help explain PFAS' long-term health effects.

Methods: The study included 590 mother-infant dyads from the Boston Birth Cohort.

Immune Biomarkers at Birth Predict Lower Respiratory Tract Infection Risk in a Large Birth Cohort.

Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) remain the leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality worldwide and affect long-term respiratory health. Identifying immunological determinants of LRTI susceptibility may help stratify disease risk and identify therapies. This study aimed to identify neonatal immunological factors predicting LRTI risk in infancy.

Newborn DNA methylation age differentiates long-term weight trajectories: the Boston Birth Cohort.

Background: Gestational age (GEAA) estimated by newborn DNA methylation (GAmAge) is associated with maternal prenatal exposures and immediate birth outcomes. However, the association of GAmAge with long-term overweight or obesity (OWO) trajectories is yet to be determined.

Methods: GAmAge was calculated for 831 children from a US predominantly urban, low-income, multi-ethnic birth cohort based on cord blood DNA methylation profile using Illumina EPIC array.

Gestational DNA methylation age as a marker for fetal development and birth outcomes: findings from the Boston Birth Cohort.

Background: Gestational DNA methylation age (GAmAge) has been developed and validated in European ancestry samples. Its applicability to other ethnicities and associations with fetal stress and newborn phenotypes such as inflammation markers are still to be determined. This study aims to examine the applicability of GAmAge developed from cord blood samples of European decedents to a racially diverse birth cohort, and associations with newborn phenotypes.

Metabolomic profiles during early childhood and risk of food allergies and asthma in multiethnic children from a prospective birth cohort.

Background: There are increasing numbers of metabolomic studies in food allergy (FA) and asthma, which, however, are predominantly limited by cross-sectional designs, small sample size, and being conducted in European populations.

Objective: We sought to identify metabolites unique to and shared by children with FA and/or asthma in a racially diverse prospective birth cohort, the Boston Birth Cohort.

Methods: Mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomic profiling was performed using venous plasma collected in early childhood (n = 811).

Associations between cord blood acetaminophen biomarkers and childhood asthma with and without allergic comorbidities.

Background: Previous studies have linked prenatal acetaminophen use to increased asthma risk in children. However, none have explored this association while differentiating between asthma cases with and without other allergic conditions or by employing objective biomarkers to assess acetaminophen exposure.

Objective: To evaluate whether the detection of acetaminophen biomarkers in cord blood is associated with the subgroups of asthma both with and without allergic comorbidities in children.

Purine degradation pathway metabolites at birth and the risk of lower respiratory tract infections in infancy.

Background: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are the leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality worldwide, and altered metabolite production is recognised as a critical factor in LRTI pathogenesis.

Methods: This study aimed to identify prenatal metabolic changes associated with LRTI risk in infancy, using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry unbiased metabolomics analysis on cord blood from 810 full-term newborns.

Results: We identified 22 compounds linked to LRTIs in infancy, enriched for purine degradation pathway (PDP) metabolites.

Integrative analysis of noncoding mutations identifies the druggable genome in preterm birth.

Preterm birth affects ~10% of pregnancies in the US. Despite familial associations, identifying at-risk genetic loci has been challenging. We built deep learning and graphical models to score mutational effects at base resolution via integrating the pregnant myometrial epigenome and large-scale patient genomes with spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) from European and African American cohorts.

Prospective Cohort Study of Emergency Department Visit Frequency and Diagnoses Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic in Urban, Low-Income, US- and Foreign-Born Mothers in Boston, MA.

Background: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic fundamentally changed how populations interface with the healthcare system. Despite historical spikes in US mortality during the pandemic, emergency department (ED) visits were paradoxically low. This is a concerning phenomenon that raises a red flag regarding access to care, especially among vulnerable populations.

Newborn DNA methylation age differentiates long-term weight trajectory: The Boston Birth Cohort.

Background: Gestational age (GEAA) estimated by newborn DNA methylation (GAmAge) is associated with maternal prenatal exposures and immediate birth outcomes. However, the association of GAmAge with long-term overweight or obesity (OWO) trajectories is yet to be determined.

Methods: GAmAge was calculated for 831 children from a US predominantly urban, low-income, multi-ethnic birth cohort using Illumina EPIC array and cord-blood DNA samples.

Joint Associations of Pregnancy Complications and Postpartum Maternal Renal Biomarkers With Severe Cardiovascular Morbidities: A US Racially and Ethnically Diverse Prospective Birth Cohort Study.

Background: Pregnancy complications are risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Little is known about the role of renal biomarkers measured shortly after delivery, individually or in combination with pregnancy complications, in predicting subsequent severe maternal CVD.

Methods And Results: This study included 566 mothers of diverse races and ethnicities from the Boston Birth cohort, enrolled at delivery and followed prospectively.

Association between antenatal corticosteroid treatment and severe adverse events in pregnant women.

Background: Antenatal corticosteroids are considered the standard of care for pregnant women at risk for preterm birth, but studies examining their potential risks are scarce. We aimed to estimate the associations of antenatal corticosteroids with three severe adverse events: sepsis, heart failure, and gastrointestinal bleeding, in pregnant women.

Methods: Of 2,157,321 pregnant women, 52,119 at 24 weeks 0/7 days to 36 weeks 6/7 days of gestation were included in this self-controlled case series study during the study period of 2009-2018.

Addressing the smoking-hypertension paradox in pregnancy: insight from a multiethnic US birth cohort.

Background: Smoking during pregnancy has been associated with reduced risk of a spectrum of hypertensive (HTN) disorders, known as the "smoking-hypertension paradox."

Objective: We sought to test potential epidemiologic explanations for the smoking-hypertension paradox.

Methods: We analyzed 8510 pregnant people in the Boston Birth Cohort, including 4027 non-Hispanic Black and 2428 Hispanic pregnancies.