Associations between maternal plasma concentrations of corticotrophin releasing hormone and the placental transcriptome.

Introduction: The placenta produces corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH), which rises exponentially in maternal plasma across pregnancy. CRH plays a functional role in fetal development, labor initiation, and the regulation of gestational length. We aimed to understand how maternal plasma CRH during pregnancy reflects placental physiology during parturition by characterizing placental transcriptomic signatures of maternal plasma CRH and comparing to transcriptomic signatures of gestational age at birth.

A descriptive examination of rurality in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Cohort: Implications, illustrations, and future directions.

Purpose: The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort has enrolled over 60,000 children to examine how early environmental factors (broadly defined) are associated with key child health outcomes. The ECHO Cohort may be well-positioned to contribute to our understanding of rural environments and contexts, which has implications for rural health disparities research. The present study examined the outcome of child obesity to not only illustrate the suitability of ECHO Cohort data for these purposes but also determine how various definitions of rural and urban populations impact the presentation of findings and their interpretation.

The influence of early childhood education and care on the relation between early-life social adversity and children's mental health in the environmental influences for Child Health Outcomes Program.

Early adversity increases risk for child mental health difficulties. Stressors in the home environment (e.g.

Environmental and dietary factors associated with urinary OH-PAHs in mid-pregnancy in a large multi-site study.

Background: PAH exposure is associated with adverse health outcomes, but exposure sources in pregnancy are not well-understood.

Objectives: We examined associations between urinary OH-PAHs during pregnancy and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and short-term ambient air pollution exposure. Participants included 1603 pregnant non-smokers in three cohorts from 7 sites across the USA.

Effect of fetal apolipoprotein L1 genotype and vitamin D deficiencies on preeclampsia risk.

Background: Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder in pregnancy known to increase the risk of mortality and other pregnancy-related issues, such as prematurity. Currently, there no known prophylactics or treatment options available for preeclampsia. More research is needed to better understand factors that increase preeclampsia risk.

Associations Between Prenatal Vitamin D and Placental Gene Expression.

Background: Vitamin D is a hormone that regulates gene transcription. Prenatal vitamin D has been linked to immune and vascular function in the placenta, a key organ of pregnancy. Transcriptome-wide RNA sequencing can provide a more complete representation of the placental effects of vitamin D.

Association of prenatal vitamin E levels with child asthma and wheeze.

Background: We investigated the individual and interaction effects of maternal plasma 𝛂- and ϒ-tocopherol levels (vitamin E isomers) on child asthma and wheeze at age 8-9.

Methods: Mother-child dyads were enrolled between 2006 and 2011 into the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) prenatal cohort. Maternal second-trimester samples were analyzed for tocopherol and lipid concentrations.

Poverty and neighborhood opportunity effects on neonate DNAm developmental age.

Background: Children from families with low socioeconomic status (SES), as determined by income, experience several negative outcomes, such as higher rates of newborn mortality and behavioral issues. Moreover, associations between DNA methylation and low income or poverty status are evident beginning at birth, suggesting prenatal influences on offspring development. Recent evidence suggests neighborhood opportunities may protect against some of the health consequences of living in low income households.

Urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolite concentrations in three pregnancy cohorts from 7 U.S. study sites.

Objective: Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is associated with adverse birth and developmental outcomes in children. We aimed to describe prenatal PAH exposures in a large, multisite U.S.

A genome scale transcriptional regulatory model of the human placenta.

Gene regulation is essential to placental function and fetal development. We built a genome-scale transcriptional regulatory network (TRN) of the human placenta using digital genomic footprinting and transcriptomic data. We integrated 475 transcriptomes and 12 DNase hypersensitivity datasets from placental samples to globally and quantitatively map transcription factor (TF)-target gene interactions.

Associations Between Prenatal Vitamin D and Placental Gene Expression.

Background: Vitamin D is a hormone regulating gene transcription. Prenatal vitamin D has been linked to immune and vascular function in the placenta, a key organ of pregnancy. To date, studies of vitamin D and placental gene expression have focused on a limited number of candidate genes.

Measurement bias in caregiver-report of early childhood behavior problems across demographic factors in an ECHO-wide diverse sample.

Background: Research and clinical practice rely heavily on caregiver-report measures, such as the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5 (CBCL/1.5-5), to gather information about early childhood behavior problems and to screen for child psychopathology.

Associations of prenatal ambient air pollution exposures with asthma in middle childhood.

We examined associations between prenatal fine particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO), and ozone (O) exposures and child respiratory outcomes through age 8-9 years in 1279 ECHO-PATHWAYS Consortium mother-child dyads. We averaged spatiotemporally modeled air pollutant exposures during four fetal lung development phases: pseudoglandular (5-16 weeks), canalicular (16-24 weeks), saccular (24-36 weeks), and alveolar (36+ weeks). We estimated adjusted relative risks (RR) for current asthma at age 8-9 and asthma with recent exacerbation or atopic disease, and odds ratios (OR) for wheezing trajectories using modified Poisson and multinomial logistic regression, respectively.