# Continuation of the NuMoM2b Heart Health Study

> **NIH NIH U01** · RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE · 2021 · $397,456

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Pregnancy-related factors may play an important and underrecognized role in the development of vascular
contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) in women. VCID is now recognized as a key
pathogenic factor in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) and represents a promising target for
intervention. Preeclampsia and other adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) such as gestational hypertension,
preterm delivery, and fetal growth restriction affect up to one in five pregnancies and are associated with future
maternal cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk. However, the impact of APOs on maternal VCID remains
unexamined. Most existing women's aging cohorts lack rigorously phenotyped, prospectively collected
pregnancy data, and the impact of maternal factors that may predispose to both APOs and VCID is not well
understood. From 2010-2013, the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-be
(nuMoM2b) enrolled a diverse cohort of 10,038 healthy women at eight U.S. academic medical centers, who
were followed from early in conception through the delivery of their first child. Several years later, the
nuMoM2b Heart Health Study (nuMoM2b-HHS) brought back 4,508 nuMoM2b participants for a second study
wave, to characterize subsequent pregnancy outcomes and accumulation of cardiovascular risk factors
following pregnancy. A third study wave of in-person visits will begin in early 2022. With this administrative
supplement, we propose to conduct neurocognitive assessments and perform brain magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) on 20 women who had preeclampsia in the index pregnancy, along with 20 women with no
APOs as controls, at two nuMoM2b-HHS clinical sites. The goal of this supplement is to investigate the impact
of preeclampsia on maternal VCID in this unique obstetric cohort, through the following specific aims: (1)
Determine if women in the nuMoM2b-HHS who experienced preeclampsia in the index pregnancy have
increased early markers of VCID on brain MRI 8-11 years after delivery, compared with women with no APOs
for either the index or subsequent pregnancies; and (2) Use the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery to evaluate
neurocognitive function, and correlate cognition with brain MRI findings, in women in the nuMoM2b-HHS who
experienced preeclampsia in their index pregnancies and women without APOs. We hypothesize that women
who had preeclampsia in the index pregnancy will have higher white matter hyperintensity volume and lower
global cognition scores compared to women with no APOs. By capitalizing on this exceptionally well-
phenotyped cohort of middle-aged women, this supplement will allow the nuMoM2b-HHS investigators a rare
opportunity to use prospectively collected pregnancy data to investigate the impact of preeclampsia, a sex-
specific vascular risk factor, on VCID and ADRD risk. Understanding the effects of preeclampsia on early
markers of VCID could help us identify women early in life who are ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10288873
- **Project number:** 3U01HL145358-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** Philip Greenland
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $397,456
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-02-15 → 2027-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10288873

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10288873, Continuation of the NuMoM2b Heart Health Study (3U01HL145358-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10288873. Licensed CC0.

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