Postdoc Fellow
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Associations of Neighborhood Disadvantage and Oxylipins in PregnancySocioeconomic disadvantages at the neighborhood level are significant risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Neighborhood disadvantage indices capture socioeconomic parameters, including income, education, employment, and housing quality. While these indices have been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, the mechanisms underlying these relationships remain unclear. Increased inflammation and oxidative stress may be causal mechanisms but have been minimally explored. Oxylipins are key regulators of inflammation during pregnancy and studying these biomarkers may shed light on the biological consequences of neighborhood deprivation in pregnancy.
We hypothesize that neighborhood disadvantage is associated with dysregulated inflammation and oxidative stress in pregnancy as measured by oxylipins. We also hypothesize that minoritized racial and ethnic groups in disadvantaged neighborhoods will experience greater dysregulation due to higher environmental pollutant exposures and psychosocial stresses from structural racism.
To test these hypotheses, we will link neighborhood disadvantage indices to 900 participants from the LIFECODES Fetal Growth Study, a racially and ethnically diverse prospective pregnancy cohort. Using existing oxylipin data from early pregnancy, we will then investigate how neighborhood disadvantage is associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. This study will characterize the distribution of neighborhood disadvantage indices and assess their relationship with novel mediators of inflammation and oxidative stress during early pregnancy. In doing so, we will uncover how residing in socioeconomically deprived and vulnerable neighborhoods acts to contribute to adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Findings from this research will inform targeted interventions to mitigate the impact of neighborhood disadvantage on maternal and fetal health.
