# Female-Specific Risk Factors for CVD: The Impact of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes on Subsequent Mental Health and CVD Risk

> **NIH NIH K01** · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · 2024 · $143,186

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Female-specific and female-predominant risk factors provide opportunities to improve cardiovascular
disease (CVD) prevention and screening in women. Pregnancy complications are risk markers for future
CVD revealed through the cardiometabolic “stress test” of pregnancy, which can be leveraged for early CVD
prevention before the onset of established risk factors (chronic hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, type 2
diabetes). Women with a history of preeclampsia (a condition involving high blood pressure during
pregnancy) or preterm delivery (<37 weeks’ gestation) have twice the risk of future CVD. Mental health
conditions, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, are twice as common in women
as in men and are also associated with increased CVD risk. Although existing studies and anecdotal
evidence suggest that acute adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs; preeclampsia and preterm delivery) can
constitute a traumatic event for some women and precipitate the development of mental health conditions
after pregnancy, rigorous epidemiologic studies are lacking. The extent to which APOs and mental health
conditions may jointly contribute to CVD in women is also unknown. This project will draw on the strengths
of complementary populations and methodologic approaches, including observational epidemiologic
analyses within the Nurses’ Health Study 2 and 3 (NHS2/3) prospective cohort studies and leveraging
electronic health records (EHR) from the Mass General Brigham health system for both quantitative
prediction modeling using machine learning and to recruit patients with recent acute APOs to participate in
qualitative interviews. This research will address the gaps in the literature by: 1) evaluating the extent to
which the increased CVD risk observed among women with a history of APOs is accounted for by the
development of mental health conditions after pregnancy using data from NHS2/3; 2) identifying clinically
relevant risk and resilience factors from the EHR that influence the risk of developing mental health
conditions after an acute APO; and 3) elucidating the relationship between APOs and subsequent PTSD
secondary to APO-related trauma through semi-structured qualitative patient interviews.
In addition to generating new insights into the accumulation of CVD risk across a woman’s life, this proposal
will provide crucial training for my development into an independent investigator by cultivating new skills in:
1) machine learning using EHR data, 2) qualitative research, and 3) psychiatric epidemiology. Given my
strong background in reproductive and cardiovascular epidemiology, my world-class mentoring team, and
personalized training plan to advance my skillset, I am well equipped to accomplish the proposed research.
The training, mentorship, and protected time provided by this Career Development Award will uniquely
position me as a leading epidemiologist equipped to improve the cardiovascular health of women.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10675091
- **Project number:** 5K01HL159281-02
- **Recipient organization:** BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer Jacqueline Stuart
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $143,186
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2024-01-19

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10675091

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10675091, Female-Specific Risk Factors for CVD: The Impact of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes on Subsequent Mental Health and CVD Risk (5K01HL159281-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10675091. Licensed CC0.

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