# Early life stress and cardiometabolic health in adolescence

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2021 · $758,177

## Abstract

Abstract
Poor cardiometabolic health, encompassing both cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, is the
leading cause of preventable death worldwide. There is growing evidence that childhood
exposure to stress increases lifespan cardiometabolic risk. The proposed study addresses 4
gaps in the literature recently identified by the American Heart Association: (1) the need for
prospective studies, (2) the need to better specify periods of greater vulnerability to stress with
regards to cardiometabolic health, (3) the need for more evidence on mechanistic pathways,
and (4) the need for more studies that explore sex differences. Our central hypothesis that
infancy is a important period for setting in motion processes that increase cardiometabolic
disease risk. Our model of early life stress (ELS) will be orphanage-rearing experienced by
children adopted internationally. We will assess cardiometabolic functioning in adolescence, the
earliest age period when these assessments are associated with adult cardiovascular health.
We will compare adolescents adopted as infants or very young children from orphanages into
well-resourced homes with youth reared in their natal families of comparable educations and
incomes. We will address three specific aims: 1) Determine the relationship between significant
ELS in the first few years of life and cardiometabolic functioning in adolescence, 2) determine
factors that mediate or partially mediate the association of ELS with cardiometabolic function
and changes in functioning during adolescence, and 3) explore the sex differences in ELS-
cardiometabolic risk associations. Under the first aim, arterial stiffness and fasting glucose,
insulin, and lipids levels will be examined. For the second aim, the impact of ELS on
cardiometabolic functioning in adolescence will be examined with the mediators of altered stress
system activity, indices of immune aging, increased trunk fat mass and poorer health behaviors.
In the third aim, sex differences will be examined in the outcomes in aim 1 and associations with
potential mediators in aim 2. These aims are based on significant preliminary data. The impact
of this study will be (1) improved understanding of the importance of the first few years of life for
cardiometabolic health, (2) a deeper characterization of the mechanisms and pathways through
which ELS-cardiometabolic risk is instantiated and (3) determination of whether there are sex
differences in either the association or the pathways mediating cardiometabolic risk. These
contributions are significant because they will demonstrate the need to begin interventions
earlier in development and will identify novel treatment targets to mitigate future cardiometabolic
risk and ultimately shift the odds for children experiencing ELS.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10192816
- **Project number:** 5R01HL149709-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Megan R Gunnar
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $758,177
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10192816

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10192816, Early life stress and cardiometabolic health in adolescence (5R01HL149709-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10192816. Licensed CC0.

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