# Project 1 - Biomarker Epidemiology of Exposure to Mixtures, Oxidative Stress, and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Puerto Rico

> **NIH NIH P42** · NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $384,080

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Preterm birth – delivery at less than 37 weeks gestation – is a significant global public health challenge, and
preterm rates in the United States are considerably higher than they were several decades ago. Explanations
for these increases remain elusive, and environmental risk factors are an understudied but potentially
important area for discovery of modifiable risk factors and high-impact interventions. Compared to the United
States overall, significantly higher rates of preterm birth exist in Puerto Rico, where nearly 12% of all births are
preterm. Rates of other adverse pregnancy outcomes are also much higher in Puerto Rico than in the US, and
Puerto Rico has a large number of Superfund and other hazardous waste sites, and additional factors that may
result in elevated exposures to environmental pollution, such as hurricanes, flooding, and other events. This
project proposes to continue our prospective cohort study of novel risk factors for preterm birth and other
adverse pregnancy outcomes, with a focus on exposure to mixtures of Superfund-relevant chemicals. We
propose to expand our cohort to include 2,000 live births in northern Puerto Rico with detailed information and
samples collected at multiple times during pregnancy. We will then utilize state-of-the-art methods to estimate
biomarkers of exposure to chemical mixtures, in addition to intermediate biomarkers of effect in order to
provide much needed human data on environmental and other predictors of pregnancy outcomes in Puerto
Rico, and insights on the biological pathways involved. Results from our study thus far suggest that oxidative
stress may be an important link between exposure and outcome that needs to be explored in more depth. The
study aims to develop and incorporate innovative statistical techniques for mixtures and mediation, and identify
conditions and activities contributing to high exposures that can inform effective exposure reduction strategies.
Our specific aims are to: 1) Investigate exposure to a range of Superfund-relevant chemicals (phthalates,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs], and metals, both as individual chemicals and as mixtures) and
adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preterm birth, impaired fetal growth (using data from repeat ultrasound
scans), birth weight, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes; 2) Determine demographic, geographic,
behavioral, weather, and other factors associated with higher exposure biomarker concentrations, both for
individual chemicals and multiple chemicals concurrently to inform exposure and risk reduction efforts; and 3)
Utilize state-of-the-art biomarkers and innovative statistical methods to discover oxidative stress pathways
involved in the relationships between chemical exposures and adverse pregnancy outcomes. The expected
outcomes of this study are new and much needed information on the magnitude, sources, and impacts of
exposure to Superfund-related chemicals, both individually and in combinatio...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10767255
- **Project number:** 5P42ES017198-14
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** John D. Meeker
- **Activity code:** P42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $384,080
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2010-04-12 → 2026-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10767255

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10767255, Project 1 - Biomarker Epidemiology of Exposure to Mixtures, Oxidative Stress, and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Puerto Rico (5P42ES017198-14). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10767255. Licensed CC0.

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