Cohort profile: Understanding Pregnancy Signals and Infant Development (UPSIDE): a pregnancy cohort study on prenatal exposure mechanisms for child health
Philip Katzman,
Kristin Scheible,
Eva Pressman,
Thomas O'Connor,
Meghan Best,
Jessica Brunner,
Allison Avrich Ciesla,
Allison Cunning,
Ntemena Kapula,
Amber Kautz,
Leena Khoury,
Allison Macomber,
Ying Meng,
Richard K Miller,
Hannah Murphy,
Carolyn M Salafia,
Ana Vallejo Sefair,
Jishyra Serrano,
Emily Barrett,
Jennifer Adibi,
Lauren Aleksunes,
Mary Caserta,
Susan Groth,
Xing Qiu,
Zorimar Rivera-Nunez,
Ruchit Shah,
Loralei Thornburg,
Sally Thurston
Affiliations
Philip Katzman
Kristin Scheible
Eva Pressman
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
Thomas O'Connor
1 Psychiatry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
Meghan Best
2 Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA
Jessica Brunner
1 Psychiatry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
Allison Avrich Ciesla
1 Psychiatry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
Allison Cunning
2 Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA
Ntemena Kapula
2 Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA
Amber Kautz
7 Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA
Leena Khoury
1 Psychiatry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
Allison Macomber
2 Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA
Ying Meng
6 School of Nursing, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA
Richard K Miller
2 Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA
Hannah Murphy
Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA
Carolyn M Salafia
8 Placental Modulation Laboratory, Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, New York, USA
Ana Vallejo Sefair
5 Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
Jishyra Serrano
2 Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA
Emily Barrett
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), Rutgers School of Public Health, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
Jennifer Adibi
Lauren Aleksunes
Mary Caserta
Susan Groth
Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich and University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Purpose Extensive research suggests that maternal prenatal distress is reliably related to perinatal and child health outcomes—which may persist into adulthood. However, basic questions remain regarding mechanisms involved. To better understand these mechanisms, we developed the Understanding Pregnancy Signals and Infant Development (UPSIDE) cohort study, which has several distinguishing features, including repeated assessments across trimesters, analysis of multiple biological pathways of interest, and incorporation of placental structure and function as mediators of child health outcomes.Participants Women with normal risk pregnancies were recruited at <14 weeks gestation. Study visits occurred in each trimester and included extensive psychological, sociodemographic, health behaviour and biospecimen collection. Placenta and cord blood were collected at birth. Child visits (ongoing) occur at birth and 1, 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 months of age and use standard anthropometric, clinical, behavioural, biological and neuroimaging methods to assess child physical and neurodevelopment.Findings to date We recruited 326 pregnancies; 294 (90%) were retained through birth. Success rates for prenatal biospecimen collection were high across all trimesters (96%–99% for blood, 94%–97% for urine, 96%–99% for saliva, 96% of placentas, 88% for cord blood and 93% for buccal swab). Ninety-four per cent of eligible babies (n=277) participated in a birth examination; postnatal visits are ongoing.Future plans The current phase of the study follows children through age 4 to examine child neurodevelopment and physical development. In addition, the cohort participates in the National Institutes of Health’s Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes programme, a national study of 50 000 families examining early environmental influences on perinatal outcomes, neurodevelopment, obesity and airway disease. Future research will leverage the rich repository of biological samples and clinical data to expand research on the mechanisms of child health outcomes in relation to environmental chemical exposures, genetics and the microbiome.
