Exposure to phthalates and OP flame retardants and long-term maternal cardiovascular and metabolic health

NIH RePORTER · ES · R01 · $682,377 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among U.S. women, accounting for approximately 1 of every 3 female deaths. Cumulative evidence has identified pregnancy complications as well as fertility measures, as CVD risk factors. However, there is very limited knowledge on the impact of environmental exposures during pregnancy and both short and long-term maternal cardiovascular and metabolic health. Environmental chemicals with potential cardiometabolic impact include phthalates and organophosphate (OP) flame retardants, which widespread use leads to ubiquitous general population exposure. Experimental studies demonstrated that both phthalates and OP flame retardants bind to human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), a master nuclear receptor that is involved in lipid metabolism regulation. Among subfertile women enrolled in the Environment and Reproductive Health (EARTH) Study, we observed worse pregnancy outcomes, including decreased live birth rates, increased pregnancy loss and elevated glucose levels during pregnancy, with increasing urinary concentrations of phthalate and/or OP flame retardant metabolites. However, it is unstudied whether phthalate and OP flame retardant exposure during pregnancy is associated with long-term (midlife) maternal cardiovascular and metabolic health. We propose to evaluate associations of preconception, pregnancy and midlife urinary phthalate and OP flame retardant metabolite concentrations (individually and as a mixture) with long-term cardiometabolic health (anthropometry, glucose and lipid metabolism, blood pressure and inflammatory biomarkers). We will also identify the most important window(s) of exposure associated with cardiometabolic health, evaluate the joint and interactive effects of urinary metabolite concentrations and modifiable lifestyle risk factors for CVD (BMI, diet, physical activity, smoking) with cardiometabolic health, and investigate trajectories of cardiovascular hea

Key facts

NIH application ID
11319786
Project number
5R01ES033651-05
Recipient
BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
Principal Investigator
BRENDA M BIRMANN; Lidia Minguez Alarcon
Activity code
R01
Funding institute
ES
Fiscal year
2026
Award amount
$682,377
Award type
5
Project period
2022-07-05T00:00:00 → 2027-04-30T00:00:00