# Maternal and offspring FADS polymorphisms, dietary LC-PUFAs, and adolescent cardiometabolic health

> **NIH NIH F31** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $46,036

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY Through this predoctoral fellowship, I will obtain in-depth training in life course
approaches to improve cardiometabolic health (CMH), analysis of nutrition interventions and longitudinal cohorts,
bioinformatics approaches for genetic analysis, and scientific communication. Risk factors for cardiometabolic
disease, the leading global cause of mortality, are emerging earlier in the life course, among young children and
adolescents. It is therefore critical to identify early and effective intervention strategies. Polyunsaturated fatty
acids (PUFAs) have a cardioprotective role as precursors to the long-chain PUFAs (LC-PUFAs) n-6 Arachidonic
Acid (AA), n-3 Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and n-3 Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), which modulate
inflammation. However, gaps remain in our understanding of the role of LC-PUFAs during critical periods of
growth and development, such as gestation and early adolescence, for later CMH. Currently, the long-term
effects of prenatal DHA supplementation remain understudied. Inconsistent results across studies may be
attributable to population heterogeneity in variants of the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) genes that regulate the
conversion of n-3 and n-6 precursors into their LC-PUFA forms. The majority of studies incorporating genetic
information have been conducted in European populations, but racial/ethnic variation in the genotype distribution
of FADS variants warrants further research. To address these gaps, we will use data from a prenatal DHA
supplementation trial (POSGRAD, NCT00646360) conducted in collaboration with Instituto Nacional de Salud
Pública (INSP) in Mexico. Mother-child pairs have been followed since birth; most recently, data on maternal
and offspring genetics, diet, body composition, and biological markers were collected from offspring at age 11
years. With the support of my mentors, I will use this unique dataset to address the following specific aims: 1)
Determine the effect of prenatal DHA supplementation on offspring CMH profiles during early adolescence
(n=485) and investigate effect modification by variants in maternal FADS genes (n = 396) and 2) Examine
whether variants in offspring FADS genes are associated with CMH profiles in a study population with low intake
of n-3 fatty acids (n = 285). I will use measures of lipids, blood pressure, adiposity, insulin resistance, and
inflammation to assess CMH profiles. I hypothesize that variants in FADS genes modify the role of dietary LC-
PUFAs during gestation and early adolescence on CMH among Mexican adolescents. By addressing these
complementary aims, we will significantly advance understanding of gene-nutrient interactions during critical
periods of growth and development in a population that has typically been understudied. Through completion of
this work, I will develop expertise in innovative approaches including dimensionality reduction techniques to
characterize CMH, haplotype estimation, and approaches to address missing dat...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10465892
- **Project number:** 1F31HD106748-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sonia Tandon
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $46,036
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-05-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10465892

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10465892, Maternal and offspring FADS polymorphisms, dietary LC-PUFAs, and adolescent cardiometabolic health (1F31HD106748-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10465892. Licensed CC0.

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