Publications by authors named "Sheryl L Rifas Shiman"
Objective: Reproductive history may help identify women at higher risk for experiencing menopausal symptoms. We hypothesized that gestation length and offspring birthweight for gestational age z-scores would be associated with menopausal symptoms and age at natural menopause in midlife among women in a longitudinal prebirth cohort.
Methods: Among 691 women enrolled in pregnancy and followed to midlife, we examined associations of gestation length and offspring birthweight for gestational age z-score at the index pregnancy with total menopausal symptoms assessed with the 11-item Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) using linear regression models, with individual menopausal symptoms using binomial regression models with a log link function, and with age at natural menopause using Cox proportional hazards models.
Importance: The American Heart Association put forth the Life's Essential 8 construct to assess cardiovascular health (CVH) based on 8 behavioral and health factors. Few studies have characterized the natural history of CVH in early life or identified its sociodemographic determinants.
Objective: To characterize CVH trajectories across childhood and adolescence and identify associations with sociodemographic variables.
Background: PFAS may impair bone health, but effects of PFAS exposure assessed during pregnancy and the perimenopause-life stages marked by rapidly changing bone metabolism-on later life bone health are unknown.
Methods: We studied 531 women in the Boston-area Project Viva cohort. We used multivariable linear, generalized additive, and mixture models to examine associations of plasma PFAS concentrations during early pregnancy [median (IQR) maternal age 32.
Article Synopsis
- The study explores the relationship between green space and childhood obesity by using advanced metrics like NDVI and street-view imagery, rather than solely relying on BMI.
- Participants were assessed from mid-childhood through late adolescence to analyze how green space exposure relates to various measures of adiposity, including BMI and fat mass index.
- The research aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how green environments may influence children's health outcomes over time, factoring in socio-economic and demographic variables.
Article Synopsis
- Limited research exists on how per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) impact bone mineral density (aBMD) during adolescence and whether factors like physical activity and dairy intake can mitigate these effects.
- A study within the Project Viva cohort analyzed the relationship between PFAS levels in mid-childhood and aBMD Z-scores in early and late adolescence, finding that higher levels of specific PFAS, like PFOA and PFDA, were associated with lower aBMD in females and some males.
- The findings suggest that greater physical activity and dairy consumption may provide some protective effects against the negative impact of PFAS on bone accrual through adolescence.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates how prenatal exposure to metals influences kidney function in adolescents, specifically through measuring metal concentrations in the blood during pregnancy and their association with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in teenagers.
- Results showed that higher levels of certain metals like cadmium, chromium, nickel, and vanadium in the first trimester correlated with lower eGFR, but these findings were not statistically significant after accounting for multiple comparisons.
- The research emphasizes the need for further exploration of how prenatal environmental factors, particularly metal exposure, could impact long-term kidney health and function.
Rationale: Further evaluation of the impact of long-term exposure to the gaseous air pollutants nitrogen dioxide (NO) and ozone (O) on child lung function, and of NO or O on eosinophilic airway inflammation, is needed.
Objective: To determine whether NO and O are associated with lung function and FeNO in children.
Methods: We measured lung function (FEV1 and FVC) at mid-childhood (mean age 7.
Background: Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry reference data designate Black and non-Black categories, as higher BMD has been documented among Black youth. We examined associations of race, skin tone, and genetic factors with bone mineral density (BMD).
Methods: 557 adolescents were followed longitudinally.
Context: Concentration of circulating anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) predicts short-term (3-5 years) bone loss around menopause. Whether AMH during mid-reproductive years predicts bone health over a decade later is unknown.
Objective: To study the association of AMH levels in mid-reproductive years with bone density and turnover biomarkers measured after ∼14 years of follow-up.
Article Synopsis
- Low maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy have been linked to various health issues in offspring and may affect DNA methylation, a process that influences gene expression.
- The study examined the relationship between maternal vitamin D insufficiency (defined as less than 75 nmol/L) and DNA methylation patterns in the cord blood of newborns using data from 3738 mother-child pairs across seven cohorts.
- Despite a significant prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency among the mothers (ranging from 44.3% to 78.5%), the research found no significant association between maternal vitamin D levels and DNA methylation at the analyzed sites after adjusting for various factors.
History of Pregnancy Loss and Risk for Higher Midlife Blood Pressure in Parous Females.
J Womens Health (Larchmt)
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- Pregnancy loss may be linked to higher blood pressure (BP) in midlife, based on a study involving participants from the Project Viva cohort who reported their pregnancy history around 18 years after enrollment.
- Of the 623 participants, about 34% experienced pregnancy loss, with results showing that those who had pregnancy loss had a mean increase in systolic BP (SBP), especially among those who lost their first pregnancy after age 35.
- The study suggests that recognizing pregnancy loss is crucial for understanding cardiovascular health risks in women, providing insights for prevention strategies moving forward.
Grace periods in comparative effectiveness studies of sustained treatments.
J R Stat Soc Ser A Stat Soc
August 2024
Researchers are often interested in estimating the effect of sustained use of a treatment on a health outcome. However, adherence to strict treatment protocols can be challenging for individuals in practice and, when non-adherence is expected, estimates of the effect of sustained use may not be useful for decision making. As an alternative, more relaxed treatment protocols which allow for periods of time off treatment (i.
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- Infantile colic is when babies cry a lot and might have stomach problems, but it can also just mean they cry a lot without other issues.
- In a study with 1,403 babies, many had either excessive crying or colic, and certain factors like being firstborn or having low birth weight made them more likely to have colic.
- The research shows that colic can be more than just crying; if babies have multiple risk factors, like family history or being born early, they are at a higher risk for colic.
Article Synopsis
- Research indicates that exposure to PFAS during pregnancy could increase the risk of developing obesity and related health issues later in life.
- A study involving 547 women showed that higher levels of certain PFAS, like PFOS, in early pregnancy are linked to increased midlife weight and body fat, while others like perfluorononanoate were associated with lower weight.
- The findings suggest that specific PFAS exposures during pregnancy might have different impacts on maternal body fat, potentially affecting long-term heart and metabolic health.
Introduction: Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is a biomarker of long-term stress. Higher HCC is associated with higher adiposity in adults; however, associations are not well characterized in adolescents.
Objective: To examine cross-sectional associations of HCC with adiposity in late adolescence.
Objective: The objective of this study was to quantify associations of infant 24-hour sleep duration and nighttime sleep consolidation with later child cognition.
Methods: This study included children from Project Viva, a prospective cohort in Massachusetts with (1) sleep measures in infancy (median age 6.4 months) and (2) child cognition in early childhood (median age 3.
Article Synopsis
- Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), like preeclampsia and gestational hypertension, significantly affect maternal and child health, prompting a study on the role of metal mixtures and vitamins in their development.
- In a cohort study involving 1,386 participants, researchers assessed the levels of essential and nonessential metals and vitamins in early pregnancy, finding a complex relationship between these substances and the incidence of HDP.
- The results indicated that higher levels of certain metals, like copper, were linked to lower odds of preeclampsia, while increased vitamin B levels were associated with higher odds of gestational hypertension, although these effects diminished after considering dietary influences.
Background: Evidence suggests that prenatal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and metals, two classes of chemicals found ubiquitously in human populations, influence immune system development and response.
Objective: We evaluated whether first trimester blood PFAS and metals were associated with antigen- or mitogen-stimulated cord blood lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine secretion.
Methods: We measured six PFAS, as well as six nonessential and four essential metals, in first trimester blood from participants in the longitudinal pre-birth Project Viva cohort, recruited between 1999 and 2000 in eastern Massachusetts.
Article Synopsis
- The study examined the characteristics of women with diagnosed and probable polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) among 557 participants from clinics in eastern Massachusetts.* -
- About 9.7% of the women had diagnosed PCOS, while 9.2% were classified as having probable PCOS based on specific hormonal criteria, showing similarities in irregular menstrual cycles between both groups.* -
- While diagnosed PCOS women had a higher obesity rate (43.9%), both groups showed similar glycemic traits, suggesting it's crucial to evaluate hormonal profiles in women experiencing irregular cycles regardless of body weight.*
Background: Antidepressants are among the most commonly prescribed medications, but evidence on comparative weight change for specific first-line treatments is limited.
Objective: To compare weight change across common first-line antidepressant treatments by emulating a target trial.
Design: Observational cohort study over 24 months.
Background: Preeclampsia is a multi-system hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Prior studies disagree on the cause and even the presence of seasonal patterns in its incidence. Using unsuitable time windows for seasonal exposures can bias model results, potentially explaining these inconsistencies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To examine the associations of abnormal maternal glucose regulation in pregnancy with offspring adiposity, insulin resistance, adipokine, and inflammatory markers during childhood and adolescence.
Study Design: Project Viva is a prospective prebirth cohort (n = 2128 live births) initiated from 1999 through 2002 in Eastern Massachusetts, US. During the second trimester of pregnancy, clinicians used 2-step oral glucose challenge testing to screen for gestational diabetes mellitus.
Introduction: Metabolite signatures for blood pressure (BP) may reveal biomarkers, elucidate pathogenesis, and provide prevention targets for high BP. Knowledge regarding metabolites associated with BP in adolescence remains limited.
Objectives: Investigate the associations between metabolites and adolescent BP, both cross-sectionally (in early and late adolescence) and prospectively (from early to late adolescence).