preeclampsia

NIH Study Reveals Potential Link Between Pregnancy Complications and Slower Infant Development

Posted on by Jodi Snare

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Gestational diabetes and preeclampsia may be linked to slower biological development in infants, according to a new study funded by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program (ECHO) at the National Institutes of Health.

The study found that newborns who were exposed to these two pregnancy complications were biologically younger than their chronologic gestational age—an effect that was most noticeable in female infants. The results provide an important clue about how these common pregnancy complications may affect infants and health outcomes later in childhood.

“In the future, we plan to continue our research with a larger sample of participants and investigate whether these biological changes detected at birth are linked to health outcomes later in childhood,” said Carrie Breton, ScD, MPH, an ECHO Program investigator at the University of Southern California. “If so, doctors and researchers could use that knowledge to develop targeted interventions that can reduce the adverse effects of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes on children’s health.”

During the study, ECHO researchers collected DNA samples from 1,801 newborns from 12 ECHO cohorts across the United States. They used these samples to evaluate each infant’s epigenetic age. Epigenetic age is a pattern of chemicals in the blood that reflects biological age rather than just chronological age. Researchers then compared the epigenetic age to the infant’s chronological age at birth (measured in pregnancy weeks).

Dr. Breton and Christine Ladd-Acosta, PhD, an ECHO Program investigator from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, led this collaborative ECHO research published in JAMA Network Open.

Ladd-Acosta, C. et al. Analysis of Pregnancy Complications and Epigenetic Gestational Age of Newborns. JAMA Network Open. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.0672

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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.

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ECHO Researchers Investigate Link Between Pregnancy Complications and Infant Development

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Collaborative ECHO research led by Carrie Breton, ScD, MPH of the University of Southern California and Christine Ladd-Acosta, PhD of Johns Hopkins University found that preeclampsia and gestational diabetes may be linked to slower biological development in infants. The researchers found that newborns who were exposed to these pregnancy complications were biologically younger than those without exposure—an effect that was most noticeable in female infants. The results of this study provide an important clue about how biological mechanisms in offspring might be affected by common pregnancy complications and how these conditions could be linked to child health outcomes. This research, titled “Analysis of Pregnancy Complications and Epigenetic Gestational Age of Newborns,” is published in JAMA Network Open.

The study included 1,801 children born between 1998 and 2008 from 12 ECHO cohorts across the United States. ECHO researchers calculated each infant’s epigenetic age—a measurement of their “biological age” based on molecular markers in their cells—using DNA samples collected at birth and compared their biological age to their actual age at birth (measured in pregnancy weeks). Then, the researchers compared the biological ages of newborn babies exposed to pregnancy complications to the biological ages of babies who were not exposed.

“In the future, we plan to continue our research with a larger sample of participants and investigate whether these biological changes detected at birth are linked to health outcomes later in childhood,” said Dr. Breton. “If so, doctors and researchers could use that knowledge to develop targeted interventions that can reduce the adverse effects of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes on children’s health.”

Read the research summary.