Maternal experiences of racial discrimination and offspring sleep in the first 2 years of life: Project Viva cohort, Massachusetts, USA (1999-2002).
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Objective
To examine the association of maternal lifetime experiences of racial discrimination with infant sleep duration over the first 2 years of life.Design
Prebirth cohort study.Setting
Massachusetts, USA (baseline: 1999-2002).Participants
552 mother-infant dyads in Project Viva, for whom the mother self-identified as being a woman of color.Measurements
During pregnancy, mothers completed the Experiences of Discrimination survey that measured lifetime experiences of racial discrimination in eight domains. The main outcome was a weighted average of their infants' 24-hour sleep duration from 6 months to 2 years.Results
30% reported 0 domains of racial discrimination, 35% 1-2 domains, and 34% ≥3 domains. Any racial discrimination (≥1 vs. 0 domains) was higher among black (80%) versus Hispanic (58%) or Asian (53%) mothers and the United States versus foreign-born mothers (79% vs. 58%) and was associated with higher mean prepregnancy BMI (26.8 vs. 24.5 kg/m2). Children whose mothers reported ≥3 domains versus 0 domains had shorter sleep duration from 6 months to 2 years in unadjusted analysis (β -18.6 min/d; 95% CI -37.3, 0.0), which was attenuated after adjusting for maternal race/ethnicity and nativity (-13.6 min/d; -33.7, 6.5). We found stronger associations of racial discrimination with offspring sleep at 6 months (-49.3 min/d; -85.3, -13.2) than for sleep at 1 year (-13.5 min/d; -47.2, 20.3) or 2 years (4.2 min/d; -21.5, 29.9).Conclusions
Maternal lifetime experiences of racial discrimination was associated with shorter offspring sleep duration at 6 months, but not with infant's sleep at 1 and 2 years of age.
SUBMITTER: Powell CA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7529670 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:BackgroundInfluences of prenatal and early-life exposures to air pollution on cognition are not well understood.ObjectivesWe examined associations of gestational and childhood exposure to traffic-related pollution with childhood cognition.MethodsWe studied 1,109 mother-child pairs in Project Viva, a prospective birth cohort study in eastern Massachusetts (USA). In mid-childhood (mean age, 8.0 years), we measured verbal and nonverbal intelligence, visual motor abilities, and visual memory. For periods in late pregnancy and childhood, we estimated spatially and temporally resolved black carbon (BC) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposures, residential proximity to major roadways, and near-residence traffic density. We used linear regression models to examine associations of exposures with cognitive assessment scores, adjusted for potential confounders.ResultsCompared with children living ? 200 m from a major roadway at birth, those living < 50 m away had lower nonverbal IQ [-7.5 points; 95% confidence interval (CI): -13.1, -1.9], and somewhat lower verbal IQ (-3.8 points; 95% CI: -8.2, 0.6) and visual motor abilities (-5.3 points; 95% CI: -11.0, 0.4). Cross-sectional associations of major roadway proximity and cognition at mid-childhood were weaker. Prenatal and childhood exposure to traffic density and PM2.5 did not appear to be associated with poorer cognitive performance. Third-trimester and childhood BC exposures were associated with lower verbal IQ in minimally adjusted models; but after adjustment for socioeconomic covariates, associations were attenuated or reversed.ConclusionsResidential proximity to major roadways during gestation and early life may affect cognitive development. Influences of pollutants and socioeconomic conditions on cognition may be difficult to disentangle.
| S-EPMC4590752 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundEpigenetic variability is hypothesized as a regulatory pathway through which prenatal exposures may influence child development and health.ObjectiveWe sought to examine the associations of residential proximity to roadways at birth and epigenome-wide DNA methylation. We also assessed associations of differential methylation with child cognitive outcomes.MethodsWe estimated residential proximity to roadways at birth using a geographic information system (GIS) and cord blood methylation using Illumina's HumanMethylation450-array in 482 mother-child pairs in Project Viva. We identified individual CpGs associated with residential-proximity-to-roadways at birth using robust linear regression [[Formula: see text]]. We also estimated association between proximity-to-roadways at birth and methylation of the same sites in blood samples collected at age 7-11 y ([Formula: see text]). We ran the same analyses in the Generation R Study for replication ([Formula: see text]). In Project Viva, we investigated associations of differential methylation at birth with midchildhood cognition using linear regression.ResultsLiving closer to major roadways at birth was associated with higher cord blood (and-more weakly-midchildhood blood) methylation of four sites in LAMB2. For each halving of residential-proximity-to-major-roadways, we observed a 0.82% increase in DNA methylation at cg05654765 [95% confidence interval (CI): (0.54%, 1.10%)], 0.88% at cg14099457 [95% CI: (0.56%, 1.19%)], 0.19% at cg03732535 [95% CI: (0.11%, 0.28)], and 1.08% at cg02954987 [95% CI: (0.65%, 1.51%)]. Higher cord blood methylation of these sites was associated with lower midchildhood nonverbal cognitive scores. Our results did not replicate in the Generation R Study.ConclusionsOur discovery results must be interpreted with caution, given that they were not replicated in a separate cohort. However, living close to major roadways at birth was associated with cord blood methylation of sites in LAMB2-a gene known to be linked to axonal development-in our U.S. cohort. Higher methylation of these sites associated with lower nonverbal cognitive scores at age 7-11 y in the same children. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP2034.
| S-EPMC6375460 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Study questionIs cesarean delivery associated with earlier offspring pubertal development?Summary answerWe identified that boys born by cesarean delivery developed puberty earlier, evidenced by an earlier age at peak height velocity and earlier attainment of puberty score > 1, than boys born by vaginal delivery.What is known alreadyCesarean delivery is posited to have long-term effects on health outcomes. However, few studies have examined whether mode of delivery is related to pubertal development.Study design, size, durationProspective pre-birth cohort study consisting of 1485 mother-child pairs enrolled during pregnancy from obstetric practices and followed up until early adolescence (median age 12.9 years). Participant inclusion required data on mode of delivery and at least one measure of pubertal development.Participants/materials, setting, methodsParticipants are children from the Project Viva study. We abstracted information on delivery mode from electronic medical records from children followed since birth (1999-2002) and examined the following markers of pubertal development: age at peak height velocity (APHV); age at menarche (girls only); parent-reported pubertal development score; and child-reported pictograph Tanner pubic hair staging. We used multivariable regression models to examine associations of delivery mode with these four pubertal indices, adjusting for the following confounders: demographic and socioeconomic factors; maternal height, pre-pregnancy BMI, total gestational weight gain, pregnancy conditions, parity, and maternal age at menarche; paternal height and BMI; gestational age at delivery and birthweight-for-gestational-age z-score.Main results and the role of chanceIn this study, 23.2% of children were born by cesarean delivery. Girls had an earlier APHV, had a higher pubertal score throughout childhood and in early adolescence, and were more likely to attain puberty score >1 and Tanner pubic hair Stage >1 earlier compared to boys. Mean (SD) age at menarche in girls was 12.4 (1.0) years. Boys born by cesarean delivery had significantly earlier APHV (β -0.23 years; 95% CI -0.40, -0.05) and higher risk of earlier attainment of puberty score > 1 (hazard ratio 1.09; 95% CI 1.01, 1.19) than boys born by vaginal delivery, after adjusting for confounders. These associations were not mediated by pre-pubertal BMI and were similar for planned (no labor) and unplanned (labor) cesarean delivery. No associations were observed between delivery mode and time to attain Tanner pubic hair Stage > 1 in boys. In girls, mode of delivery was not associated with any of the measured pubertal development markers.Limitations, reasons for cautionThis study used, as secondary outcomes, parent- and child-reported measures of pubertal development, which may be more prone to error and misclassification than information collected by trained observers or physicians during clinical examinations. The findings may also not be generalizable to populations from different settings, because all participants lived in one geographic area, were well educated, and had health care.Wider implications of the findingsOur findings provide support for cesarean delivery as a potential indicator of identifying children who are likely to experience earlier pubertal development; however, more studies are needed to confirm or refute these observations.Study funding/competing interest(s)The project was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health. The authors have no financial relationships or competing interests to disclose.Trial registration numberN/A.
| S-EPMC8730300 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The association between early-life greenness and child cognition is not well understood. Using prospective data from Project Viva (n = 857) from 1999-2010, we examined associations of early-life greenness exposure with mid-childhood cognition. We estimated residential greenness at birth, early childhood (median age 3.1 years), and mid-childhood (7.8 years) using 30-m resolution Landsat satellite imagery (normalized difference vegetation index). In early childhood and mid-childhood, we administered standardized assessments of verbal and nonverbal intelligence, visual-motor abilities, and visual memory. We used natural splines to examine associations of early life-course greenness with mid-childhood cognition, adjusting for age, sex, race, income, neighborhood socioeconomic status, maternal intelligence, and parental education. At lower levels of greenness (greenness <0.6), greenness exposure at early childhood was associated with a 0.48% increase in nonverbal intelligence and 2.64% increase in visual memory in mid-childhood. The association between early-childhood greenness and mid-childhood visual memory was observed after further adjusting for early childhood cognition and across different methodologies, while the association with nonverbal intelligence was not. No other associations between early life-course greenness and mid-childhood cognition were found. Early childhood greenness was nonlinearly associated with higher mid-childhood visual memory. Our findings highlight the importance of nonlinear associations between greenness and cognition.
| S-EPMC8897997 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We established Project Viva to examine prenatal diet and other factors in relation to maternal and child health. We recruited pregnant women at their initial prenatal visit in eastern Massachusetts between 1999 and 2002. Exclusion criteria included multiple gestation, inability to answer questions in English, gestational age ?22 weeks at recruitment and plans to move away before delivery. We completed in-person visits with mothers during pregnancy in the late first (median 9.9 weeks of gestation) and second (median 27.9 weeks) trimesters. We saw mothers and children in the hospital during the delivery admission and during infancy (median age 6.3 months), early childhood (median 3.2 years) and mid-childhood (median 7.7 years). We collected information from mothers via interviews and questionnaires, performed anthropometric and neurodevelopmental assessments and collected biosamples. We have collected additional information from medical records and from mailed questionnaires sent annually to mothers between in-person visits and to children beginning at age 9 years. From 2341 eligible women, there were 2128 live births; 1279 mother-child pairs provided data at the mid-childhood visit. Primary study outcomes include pregnancy outcomes, maternal mental and cardiometabolic health and child neurodevelopment, asthma/atopy and obesity/cardiometabolic health. Investigators interested in learning more about how to obtain Project Viva data can contact Project_Viva@hphc.org.
| S-EPMC4339753 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionDespite the increasing diversity of individuals entering medicine, physicians from racial and sexual minority groups continue to experience bias and discrimination in the workplace. The objective of this study was to determine the current experiences and perceptions of discrimination on the basis of race and sexual orientation among academic emergency medicine (EM) faculty.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of EM faculty across six programs. Survey items included the Overt Gender Discrimination at Work (OGDW) Scale adapted for race and sexual orientation, and the frequency and source of experienced and observed discrimination. Group comparisons were made using t-tests or chi-square analyses, and relationships between race or sexual orientation, and we evaluated physicians' experiences using correlation analyses.ResultsA total of 141 out of 352 (40.1%) subjects completed at least a portion of the survey. Non-White physicians reported higher mean racial OGDW scores than their White counterparts (13.4 vs 8.6; 95% confidence interval (CI) for difference, -7.7 - -2.9). Non-White EM faculty were also more likely to report having experienced discriminatory treatment based on race than were White EM faculty (48.0% vs 12.6%; CI for difference, 16.6% - 54.2%), although both groups were equally likely to report having observed race-based discrimination of another physician. EM faculty who identified as sexual minorities reported higher mean sexual minority OGDW scores than their heterosexual counterparts (11.1 vs 7.1; 95% CI for difference, -7.3 - -0.6). There were no significant differences between sexual minority and heterosexual faculty in their reports of experiencing or observing discrimination based on sexual orientation.ConclusionEM faculty from racial and sexual minority groups perceived more discrimination based on race or sexual orientation in their workplace than their majority counterparts. EM faculty regardless of race or sexual orientation were similar in their observations of discriminatory treatment of another physician based on race or sexual orientation.
| S-EPMC7514380 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Study objectivesResearch on the relationship between racial discrimination and sleep is limited. The aims of this study were to: (1) examine the independent relationship between ethnicity, sex, age, socioeconomic position, experience of racial discrimination and self-reported sleep disturbances, and (2) determine the statistical contribution of experience of racial discrimination to ethnic disparities in sleep disturbances.MethodsThe study used data from the 2002/03 New Zealand Health Survey, a nationally-representative, population-based survey of New Zealand adults (? 15 years). The sample included 4,108 self-identified M?ori (indigenous New Zealanders) and 6,261 European adults. Outcome variables were difficulty falling asleep, frequent nocturnal awakenings, and early morning awakenings. Experiences of racial discrimination across five domains were used to assess overall racial discrimination "ever" and the level of exposure to racial discrimination. Socioeconomic position was measured using neighborhood deprivation, education, and equivalized household income.ResultsM?ori had a higher prevalence of each sleep disturbance item than Europeans. Reported experiences of racial discrimination were independently associated with each sleep disturbance item, adjusted for ethnicity, sex, age group, and socioeconomic position. Sequential logistic regression models showed that racial discrimination and socioeconomic position explained most of the disparity in difficulty falling asleep and frequent nocturnal awakening between M?ori and Europeans; however, ethnic differences in early morning awakenings remained.ConclusionsRacial discrimination may play an important role in ethnic disparities in sleep disturbances in New Zealand. Activities to improve the sleep health of non-dominant ethnic groups should consider the potentially multifarious ways in which racial discrimination can disturb sleep.
| S-EPMC4712405 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVES:Higher leptin and lower adiponectin correlate with adult and childhood adiposity, but it is unclear how exposure to these adipokines during gestation relates to offspring growth. We aimed to investigate the relationships of maternal and cord adipokines with offspring adiposity across childhood to early adolescence, as well as interactions with child age. METHODS:In mother-child pairs in the Project Viva cohort, we measured adipokines in mothers at second trimester (n=1106) and in cord blood at birth (n=657). We measured offspring adiposity indices at early childhood (mean 3.3±s.d. 0.3 years), mid-childhood (7.9±0.8 years) and early adolescence (13.2±0.9 years). We analyzed associations of maternal and cord adipokines with offspring longitudinal adiposity using a linear mixed model adjusting for pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain (GWG), and other confounders. RESULTS:Mothers with higher BMI and GWG had higher leptin. Offspring born to mothers with the highest vs lowest quartile of leptin had lower BMI z-score (-0.49 units, 95% confidence interval (CI):-0.72,-0.26), waist circumference (-2.6?cm, 95% CI: -3.7,-1.5) and sum of subscapular and triceps skinfolds (-2.8?mm, 95% CI: -4.1,-1.4) in early life. An interaction term between maternal leptin and child age was positive, suggesting that the associations between maternal leptin and child adiposity were not constant over time. Offspring born to mothers with lowest vs highest quartile of maternal adiponectin had lower early life adiposity (BMI z-score -0.27 units, 95% CI: -0.48,-0.05). Results were similar for cord leptin but not cord adiponectin. CONCLUSIONS:Our findings showed higher maternal and cord leptin, and lower maternal adiponectin are associated with lower offspring adiposity from childhood to early adolescence, independent of maternal BMI and GWG. However, the strength of these associations was not constant over time.
| S-EPMC5899068 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Higher maternal and biomarker levels of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) have been associated with improved perinatal outcomes and may also influence offspring metabolic health. Past studies were not powered to examine metabolic outcomes and few have specifically targeted metabolically vulnerable populations. We examined the associations of prenatal n-3 LCPUFA status with markers of metabolic health in early and mid-childhood in the full population as well as stratified by maternal glucose tolerance. Our data consisted of 1418 mother-child dyads from Project Viva, a longitudinal, prospective pre-birth cohort enrolled in eastern Massachusetts. We assessed maternal dietary intake of fish and n-3 LCPUFA in mid-pregnancy using a validated food frequency questionnaire. N-3 LCPUFA levels were quantified in maternal second trimester and umbilical cord plasma using liquid-gas chromatography. We assessed offspring anthropometry, adiposity, and blood pressure at early (median age: 3.2 years) and mid-childhood (median age: 7.7 years); and assayed blood samples collected at these visits for metabolic biomarkers. We report here multivariable effect estimates and 95% CI. Early childhood BMI z-score was on average 0.46 (1.03) units and waist circumference 51.3 (3.7) cm. At mid-childhood these measures were 0.39 (1.00) units and 60.0 (8.3) cm, respectively. Higher cord plasma DHA levels were associated with lower BMI z-score ((Q)uartile 4 vs. Q1: -0.21, 95% CI: -0.38, -0.03), waist circumference (Q4 vs. Q1: -0.63, 95% CI: -1.27, 0.00 cm), and leptin levels (Q4 vs. Q1: -0.36, 95% CI: -0.77, 0.05 ng/mL) in early childhood. These associations were strongest and reached significance in offspring of women with isolated hyperglycemia vs. better or worse glycemic status. Higher maternal DHA + EPA (Q4 vs. Q1: -1.59, 95% CI: -2.80, -0.38 μg/mL) and fish (≥3 vs. 0 portions/week: -2.18, 95% CI: -3.90, -0.47 μg/mL) intake was related to lower adiponectin in early childhood. None of these associations persisted with mid-childhood outcomes. We did not find associations with any of the other outcomes. This study supports early and possibly transient effects of prenatal n-3 LCPUFA status on anthropometric measures and adipokine levels. It also raises the possibility that offspring of women with isolated hyperglycemia derive the most benefits from higher n-3 LCPUFA status.
| S-EPMC5968023 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed and widened racialized health disparities, underscoring the impact of structural inequities and racial discrimination on COVID-19 vaccination uptake. A sizable proportion of Black American men report that they either do not plan to or are unsure about becoming vaccinated against COVID-19. The present study investigated hypotheses regarding the mechanisms by which experiences of racial discrimination are associated with Black American men's COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling with 4 waves of data from 242 Black American men (aged ~ 27) living in resource-poor communities in the rural South. Study findings revealed that racial discrimination was indirectly associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy via increased endorsement of COVID-19 conspiratorial beliefs. Findings also demonstrated that increased levels of ethnic identity strengthen the association between experiences of racial discrimination and COVID-19 conspiratorial beliefs. In contrast, increased levels of social support weakened the association between cumulative experiences of racial discrimination and COVID conspiratorial beliefs. Taken together, these results suggest that racial discrimination may promote conspiratorial beliefs which undermine Black American men's willingness to be vaccinated. Future interventions aimed towards promoting vaccine uptake among Black American men may benefit from the inclusion of targeted efforts to rebuild cultural trust and increase social support.
| S-EPMC9707415 | biostudies-literature