Colicino Lab

Research focus

NIH R01 · 2024

Air Particulate Pollution and Stress: Effects and Mechanisms for Long-term Maternal Obesity Risks

SUMMARY In pregnancy, women typically gain 16-40 pounds and undergo numerous physiological changes with potentially long-lasting consequences. Yet, research on pregnancy as a window of susceptibility to environmental exposures has focused primarily on the child and largely overlooked women’s long-term weight gain and cardiometabolic health. Emerging risk factors for obesity include air pollution that acts via respirable fine particles <2.5 μm (PM2.5) and psychosocial stress. Our preliminary data identify pregnancy as a unique window of vulnerability to PM2.5 and stress for women, indicating that effects of air pollution and stress during pregnancy may be critical for women’s health over…

From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.