neurodevelopment

ECHO Research Explores Sleep Differences Among Pregnant Participants Across Racial and Ethnic Groups

Posted on by Jodi Snare
Maristella Lucchini, PhD

Findings from a collaborative research effort led by Maristella Lucchini, PhD of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, report differences in pregnant individuals’ sleep quality across racial and ethnic groups. Based on the team’s research, pregnant non-Hispanic Black participants slept less and had more sleep disturbances compared with non-Hispanic White participants. Hispanic participants slept longer, had better sleep quality, and experienced fewer sleep disturbances compared with non-Hispanic White participants. This research, titled “Racial/ethnic disparities in subjective sleep duration, sleep quality and sleep disturbances during pregnancy: an ECHO study” is published in Sleep.

The team analyzed data from 2500 pregnant participants in 14 ECHO cohorts nationwide. Information was collected via questionnaire, in which participants reported sleep duration, quality, and disturbances, as well as education level, height, age, and pre-pregnancy weight.

The size of the ECHO cohort created an avenue to investigate and report differences in pregnant individuals’ sleep quality across racial and ethnic groups. “Research shows that pregnant individuals from minority groups are more likely to experience complications during pregnancy, and there is an association between poor sleep and poor maternal health,” said Dr. Lucchini. “We wanted to know if sleep was a factor that contributed to racial and ethnic disparities in overall maternal health.”

Expanding on these findings in future studies may suggest the need for targeted interventions to improve sleep health in pregnancy. Additionally, future studies should explore the factors that contribute to sleep disparities on various levels, including personal, family, neighborhood, and societal.

Read the Research Summary.

ECHO Study Finds Disparities across Racial, Ethnic Groups in Sleep Duration, Quality During Pregnancy

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ECHO Study Finds Disparities across Racial, Ethnic Groups in Sleep Duration, Quality During Pregnancy

Author(s): Maristella Lucchini, et al.

 

Who sponsored this study?

This research was supported by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health.

 

What were the study results?

Non-Hispanic Black/African American participants slept less and reported more sleep disturbances compared with non-Hispanic White participants. Hispanic participants slept longer, had better sleep quality, and fewer sleep disturbances compared with non-Hispanic White participants.

Footnote: Results reported here are for a single study. Other or future studies may provide new information or different results. You should not make changes to your health without first consulting your healthcare professional.

 

What was the study's impact?

This study is the first to investigate and report differences in pregnant individuals’ sleep quality across racial and ethnic groups. If these results are replicated in other studies, they may suggest the need for targeted interventions to improve sleep health in pregnancy.

 

Why was this study needed?

Pregnant women from racial/ethnic minority groups are more likely to experience complications during pregnancy, and poor sleep during pregnancy is known to increase the risk of poor maternal health. People from racial/ethnic minority groups often experience worse sleep compared to non-Hispanic White people, but little is known about differences in sleep during pregnancy.

The objective of this study was to examine whether sleep differences during pregnancy among racial/ethnic groups was a factor that contributed to racial/ethnic disparities in overall maternal health outcomes.

 

Who was involved?

Researchers analyzed information from 2500 pregnant individuals from 14 ECHO cohorts across the United States who reported on their sleep habits during pregnancy. Participants self-reported race and ethnicity were grouped into Hispanic, non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black/African American, and non-Hispanic Asian individuals.

 

What happened during the study?

Participants completed questionnaires during pregnancy to report on their sleep duration, quality, and disturbances. Other information collected included maternal education level, pre-pregnancy weight, height, and age.

The researchers evaluated the association between sleep duration, quality, and disturbances in each pregnancy trimester across racial/ethnic groups.

 

What happens next?

Future studies should research what factors contribute to these sleep disparities at a personal level, family level, and beyond. They should also explore to what extent differences in sleep duration, quality, and disturbances might contribute to disparities in maternal and child health outcomes across racial/ethnic groups.

 

Where can I learn more?

Access the full journal article, titled “Racial/ethnic disparities in subjective sleep duration, sleep quality and sleep disturbances during pregnancy: an ECHO study” in Sleep.

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Published June 21, 2022

 

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ECHO Study Finds Disparities across Racial, Ethnic Groups in Sleep Duration, Quality During Pregnancy

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New ECHO Research Reveals Depression is More Common Among New Mothers of Preterm Babies

Posted on by Jodi Snare

New ECHO research reveals that increasing symptoms of depression may be more common among women who give birth to preterm babies compared to women who have their babies at full term. Mothers of preterm babies were also more likely to experience depression that lasted years after birth, and for many of these women, their symptoms of depression got worse over time. These findings resulted from a collaborative effort between ECHO researchers Danielle Roubinov, PhD of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Rashelle Musci, PhD of Johns Hopkins University, along with senior author Nicole Bush, PhD, of UCSF and other ECHO researchers.

Their research, titled “Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms Among Mothers of Preterm and Full-Term Infants in a National Sample,“ is published in Archives of Women’s Mental Health. 

The research team collected data from approximately 11,300 women from 35 different ECHO cohorts across the United States that documented self-reported depression measures for women when they were pregnant and after they had their babies. Of these women, 11% had preterm births, and 89% had full-term babies. Follow-up assessments from the two groups of women were collected at least once within the first five years following childbirth to better understand the long-term trajectories of depressive symptoms s and potential opportunities for treatment.

“Having a baby is exciting, but it can also be stressful, and some women feel sad or anxious before and after their baby is born,” said Dr. Roubinov. “This period can be especially difficult for mothers when babies are born prematurely.”

Many mothers can struggle with their mental health after giving birth, and women who give birth prematurely may be particularly at risk of experiencing depressive symptoms related to the birth experience, neonatal care challenges, and ongoing concerns about the infant’s health and development.

“Currently, many doctors only ask women about how they feel when they are pregnant and for six months after birth,” said Dr. Musci. “This study showed us that we should be continuing to ask women about their mental health for years following their pregnancy while helping them to find the support they need.”

Future ECHO studies can add to this research by assessing intervention programs that can help support the mental health of new mothers, as maternal mental health is a critical influence on children’s development.

Learn more about depression during and after pregnancy through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and NIH.

Read the Research Summary.

ECHO PRO Core Publishes Series of Articles on PROMIS® Early Childhood

Posted on by Jodi Snare

ECHO’s Person-Reported Outcomes (PRO) Core published a series of articles on the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) Early Childhood measures in this month’s online edition of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.

The PROMIS® measures use recent advances in information technology and health survey research to measure person-reported outcomes—such as pain, fatigue, physical functioning, emotional distress, and social role participation—that have a major impact on quality of life.

The PRO Core developed 12 early childhood measures to evaluate common mental, social, and physical health outcomes for children ages 1-5. See below for links to the individual articles. The ECHO Program Office also wrote an introduction to this special series.

The PRO Core, located at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., captures the experiences of children and their families who are taking part in ECHO. Led by principal investigators Richard Gershon, PhD, and David Cella, PhD, the PRO Core is responsible for keeping and providing PRO information for researchers, helping researchers use PRO assessments in their study designs, and coordinating plans for updating, approving, and using PRO information in studies.

NIH Program Study Finds Association Between Prenatal Obesity and Child Autism-Related Behaviors

Posted on by Jodi Snare

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

According to a new National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study, there may be an association between certain conditions during a mother’s pregnancy, such as obesity and gestational diabetes, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)-related behaviors in childhood.

The study included nearly 7,000 participants from 40 NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) cohorts. Eight of the cohorts included participants with increased likelihood of ASD. Researchers collected data on maternal health conditions during pregnancy, child autism-related social behaviors, and participant demographics.

The study suggested that maternal obesity and gestational diabetes were associated with indicators of autism-related social behaviors. Investigators did not see increases in these behaviors for children of mothers with preeclampsia or gestational hypertension. There was no strong evidence to suggest that ASD-related traits were related to preterm birth or low birth weight, which are common complications of these pregnancy conditions.

Learn more about this research through the affiliated flash talk.

“Investigating how exposures, health conditions, and risk factors relate across the full range of the outcome distribution may help us learn more about the nature of these relationships and their impact on the population,” said Kristen Lyall, ScD of Drexel University.

Dr. Lyall and Christine Ladd-Acosta, PhD of Johns Hopkins University, are both ECHO Program investigators and led this collaborative effort. Their research is published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

“Our results highlight the need for better prenatal care and more monitoring of women experiencing conditions like obesity during pregnancy,” said Dr. Ladd-Acosta.

Lyall, K. et al. Cardiometabolic Pregnancy Complications in Association with Autism-Related Traits as Measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale in ECHO. American Journal of Epidemiology. DOI 10.1093/aje/kwac061 (2022)

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About ECHO: ECHO is a nationwide research program supported by the NIH. Launched in 2016, ECHO aims to enhance the health of children for generations to come. ECHO investigators study the effects of a broad range of early environmental influences on child health and development. For more information, visit echochildren.org.

About the NIH: NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information, visit www.nih.gov.

Media Contacts

For information or to request an interview, contact Rebekah Yeager,  rebekah.yeager@nih.gov.

If you are not a member of the media, but have a general inquiry, please contact  NIHKidsandEnvironment@od.nih.gov.

Connect With Us

echo connectorCheck out the recent issues of our bi-monthly newsletter, the ECHO Connector, for program news and the latest research findings.

To receive the ECHO Connector through email, subscribe here.

Follow @ECHOChildHealth for the latest ECHO Program updates on Twitter.

NIH Program Study Links COVID-19 Pandemic Hardships to Child Life Satisfaction

Posted on by Jodi Snare

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Courtney K. Blackwell, PhD

Families who faced more hardships related to the COVID-19 pandemic had higher levels of both caregiver and child stress and lower child life satisfaction, according to a new National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study. However, being more socially connected and engaged with family promoted life satisfaction for children of all ages.

The study included more than 1,600 families from 30 U.S. states. For younger children, family engagement decreased the negative effect of COVID-19 pandemic-related stress on life satisfaction. For adolescents, pre-existing anxiety and/or depression increased their risk for lower life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Courtney K. Blackwell, Ph.D. of Northwestern University, an investigator in the NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, led this collaborative research effort. The article, titled “Youth well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic,” is published in Pediatrics.

The researchers used survey data from 14 ECHO cohorts across the U.S. to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic-related family hardships on caregiver and child stress, and understand how stress, social connection, family engagement, and pre-existing mental health conditions affect children’s life satisfaction.

“The findings demonstrate ways families can cope with adverse events and promote their children’s well-being through family engagement and fostering peer social connectedness,” Blackwell said. “They also show that stress and well-being are not direct opposites, suggesting the need for future interventions that target both decreasing children’s stress and improving their well-being.”

Blackwell, C. et al. Youth well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatrics. DOI 10.1542/peds.2021-054754 (2022)

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About ECHO: ECHO is a nationwide research program supported by the NIH. Launched in 2016, ECHO aims to enhance the health of children for generations to come. ECHO investigators study the effects of a broad range of early environmental influences on child health and development. The program consists of two major components, including 69 existing and ongoing observational study cohorts and a pediatric clinical trials network. For more information, visit echochildren.org.

About the NIH: NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

Media Contacts

For information or to request an interview, contact Rebekah Yeager,  rebekah.yeager@nih.gov.

If you are not a member of the media, but have a general inquiry, please contact  NIHKidsandEnvironment@od.nih.gov.

Connect With Us

echo connectorCheck out the recent issues of our bi-monthly newsletter, the ECHO Connector, for program news and the latest research findings.

To receive the ECHO Connector through email, subscribe here.

Follow @ECHOChildHealth for the latest ECHO Program updates on Twitter.

NIH Program Study Links Smoking in Pregnant Moms to Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children

Posted on by Jodi Snare
PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Smoking before or during pregnancy may be associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits, such as symptoms of social impairments, according to a new study of approximately 11,000 children funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study also observed that full-term babies whose mothers smoked before and during pregnancy had a 44 percent increased risk of receiving an ASD diagnosis later in childhood. The research, titled “Maternal Tobacco Smoking and Offspring Autism Spectrum Disorder or Traits in ECHO Cohorts,” is published in Autism Research.

Rashelle J. Musci, Ph.D. of Johns Hopkins University and Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Ph.D. of the University of California, Davis, led this collaborative effort as investigators in the NIH-funded Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.

The research team gathered information from children in 13 ECHO cohorts across the U.S. Each cohort either collected diagnoses for ASD, administered the Social Responsiveness Scale to determine social impairments in the children, or both. All cohorts also collected data on the mothers’ prenatal smoking habits and potential confounding variables.

“Future studies can help determine the specific prenatal period at which infants are most susceptible to cigarette smoke exposure and other factors, such as lifestyle habits or paternal smoking, that may influence the child’s development,” Hertz-Picciotto said.

Hertz-Picciotto, I. et al. Maternal Tobacco Smoking and Offspring Autism Spectrum Disorder or Traits in ECHO Cohorts. Autism Research. DOI 10.1002/aur.2693 (2022)

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About ECHO: ECHO is a nationwide research program supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Launched in 2016, ECHO aims to enhance the health of children for generations to come. ECHO investigators study the effects of a broad range of early environmental influences on child health and development. The program consists of two major components, including 69 existing and ongoing observational study cohorts and a pediatric clinical trials network. For more information, visit echochildren.org.

About the NIH: NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

Media Contacts

For information or to request an interview, contact Rebekah Yeager,  rebekah.yeager@nih.gov.

If you are not a member of the media, but have a general inquiry, please contact  NIHKidsandEnvironment@od.nih.gov.

Connect With Us

echo connectorCheck out the recent issues of our bi-monthly newsletter, the ECHO Connector, for program news and the latest research findings.

To receive the ECHO Connector through email, subscribe here.

Follow @ECHOChildHealth for the latest ECHO Program updates on Twitter.

New ECHO Research Investigates Relationship between Chronic Health Conditions and Children’s Positive Health

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Julia Schuchard, PhD

Collaborative ECHO research led by Julia Schuchard, PhD of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia studied the association between chronic physical or mental health conditions and children’s assessment of their own well-being, also referred to as positive health. The findings show that many children and adolescents with chronic health conditions have similar levels of positive health as their peers without chronic conditions. The team’s research, titled “Influences of chronic physical and mental health conditions on child and adolescent positive health,” is published in Academic Pediatrics.

For this study, researchers gathered 1,764 children aged 8 to 17 from 13 ECHO cohorts across the U.S. and asked them about their physical, mental, and social health and life satisfaction. The children’s parents also provided information on their child’s chronic health conditions, including physical (e.g., asthma, chronic pain, motor problems), developmental (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, developmental delay, learning disabilities), and mental (e.g., depression, anxiety) health conditions. Around 54% of children participating in the study had some form of chronic health condition.

The results of this study suggest that mental health conditions such as depression in childhood may be a primary driver of decreased well-being and life satisfaction among children with chronic health conditions. “The symptoms of physical health conditions and developmental disorders may last for years or even a lifetime,” said Dr. Schuchard, “but it is possible that negative effects on life satisfaction could be minimized by preventing and treating mental health problems.”

More research is needed to identify the best mental health interventions for improving positive health outcomes among children with chronic health conditions. Effective interventions may include increasing the availability of mental health assessments and screening children and adolescents with chronic health conditions for depression more frequently.

“Examining the effects of interventions like these on positive health outcomes has the potential to shift perspectives around health” said Dr. Schuchard, “highlighting the importance of promoting children’s mental health and well-being.”

Read the Research Summary.

ECHO Researchers Develop a Shorter Survey for Evaluating Sources of Stress in Adults

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Phillip Sherlock, PhD

Through a collaborative effort led by Phillip Sherlock, PhD from Northwestern University, an ECHO research team developed a short-form version of the Crisis in Family Systems-Revised (CRISYS-R) questionnaire for evaluating the sources of stress that adults experience. The study found that the revised 24-question survey (CRISYS-SF) covered the same 11 areas of stress the 80-question CRISYS-R addressed and yielded very similar scores. The article, titled “A short form of the Crisis in Family Systems (CRISYS) in a racially diverse sample of pregnant women,” is published in Current Psychology.

The researchers interviewed 884 pregnant women in the PRogramming of Intergenerational Stress Mechanisms (PRISM) study from New York City and Boston. About 20% of these women spoke Spanish as their primary language, 20% had less than a high school education, and 60% reported having some degree of financial trouble. The participants answered all 80 of the CRISYS-R questions, and the researchers used statistical methods and expert input to identify which questions were the most useful for measuring stress.

Growing evidence suggests that exposure to stress can affect a patient’s overall health. The CRISYS-SF is a convenient method for doctors and researchers to more easily screen for participant stress, identify the sources of that stress, and plan effective interventions.

“Factors including questionnaire length contribute to participant burden,” said Dr. Sherlock, “and this burden can contribute to reduced response rate, incomplete data, and reduced data quality in clinical studies.” Future research into the effects of stress on specific health outcomes will benefit from the use of the CRISYS-SF questionnaire to gather reliable, high quality data on participant stress.

Read the Research Summary.

Series Highlighting ECHO Program Now Available in Pediatric Research

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Pediatric Research recently published a series of articles highlighting the ECHO Program’s progress. In the introductory article, titled “The NIH ECHO Program: investigating how early environmental influences affect child health,” the NIH Program Office provides a broad overview of the program and its achievements to date. The second and third articles, written by members of the ECHO Coordinating Center (CC) and various ECHO investigators, focus on the program’s construction, challenges overcome during development, and the scientific opportunities that have already resulted from ECHO’s uniquely broad dataset.

The introductory article highlights the origins of the ECHO Program, dating back to September 2016. Authored by members of the NIH Program Office, this article details the breadth of the ECHO Program’s national network of cohorts, which includes 57,000 children and over 1,200 researchers participating through observational and interventional research. This piece also outlines program goals, including ECHO’s commitment “to enable high-impact research evidence that will inform clinical practices, policies, and programs for child health; and establish a national data platform and biorepository for the scientific community.”

Given its size and span, the program faced unique challenges. To tackle these head-on, governing committees facilitated the establishment of several specialized working groups to address challenges and direct the program in pursuing its goals. For example, the purpose of the Team Science Working Group was to “maximize ECHO’s scientific excellence and productivity by fostering team building and collaboration through effective communication.”

Another logistical challenge that ECHO faced from the beginning was the coordination of a dispersed set of established pediatric cohorts and the harmonization of their existing data to create a nationwide standardized dataset. As many of these individual cohorts had their own research focal points and routine sets of measurements, building a consistent dataset required ECHO to develop a unified set of required measurements and standard protocols. From this problem came the Protocol Working Group.

ECHO aims to enhance the health of children and adolescents through research that may help inform healthcare practices, programs, and policies. The third article details program strategies for fostering solution-oriented research that helps accomplish this goal, some of which include promoting ECHO research through publications and Opportunities and Infrastructure Fund (OIF) grants.

In the five years since its inception, the ECHO Program has made great strides in the development of a diverse, nationwide pediatric research framework with the power to inform children’s health policies and practices. Its large, varied population of participants, emphasis on multidisciplinary science, and capacity for pioneering innovative methods and technologies have shaped the program into an unprecedented resource in pediatric research.

“ECHO represents exciting new opportunities for pediatric research,” the third article concludes, “allowing for the investigation of scientific questions related to less common childhood outcomes and increasing inclusiveness of children participating in research in the United States.”