# Childhood Antecedents of Adult Cardiometabolic health: A Prospective Study of Low-Income Men

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2022 · $718,631

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes are leading causes of death among adults in the US,
with incident disease following years of accumulating risk conferred through various metabolic
pathways (obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance), immune factors (e.g., systemic
inflammation), and rising blood pressure. The pathogenesis of CVD and cardiometabolic health
begins in childhood, thus it is imperative to identify factors that contribute to emerging
cardiometabolic health disparities. Like other chronic diseases, CVD and diabetes track a
socioeconomic gradient, with greater lifelong health risk among individuals born into
disadvantaged circumstances. However, no prospective studies have carefully characterized
links between early socioeconomic disadvantage and adult health, addressing whether poverty
during particular developmental stages is especially harmful and delineating developmentally
salient risk factors that may link economic disadvantage to cardiometabolic disease (CMD) risk.
Guided by the family stress framework, we propose that family-, school- and community-level
factors during critical phases of development are pathways through which socioeconomic
disadvantage in childhood shapes cardiometabolic health. We also consider the role of child-
based protective factors that might buffer the effects of poverty on adult health outcomes.
Finally, we explore how race and SES intersect to shape risk for CMD in adulthood and whether
adult health behaviors are pathways through which economic disadvantage gives rise to greater
propensity for CMD. The project will assess the cardiovascular health of a diverse sample of 248
adult men (aged 31-33 years) who participated in the Pittsburgh Mother & Child Project
(PMCP). The parent project recruited a sample of 310 toddlers from low income families and
has followed them closely to early adulthood, permitting a comprehensive assessment of risk
and protective factors. We will consider whether these factors relate to biomarkers of
cardiometabolic health risk and preclinical markers of CVD – carotid intima media thickness
and pulse wave velocity. By testing novel contextual pathways at the family, school, and
neighborhood levels this investigation will help to identify contexts that can be targeted by
programs and policies aimed at reducing socioeconomic disparities in adult health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10453445
- **Project number:** 5R01HL152444-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** ANNA L MARSLAND
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $718,631
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-08-01 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10453445

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10453445, Childhood Antecedents of Adult Cardiometabolic health: A Prospective Study of Low-Income Men (5R01HL152444-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10453445. Licensed CC0.

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