Cardiovascular health in early pregnancy and circulating placental biomarkers
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Maternal cardiovascular and placental health are related to pregnancy outcomes, yet how cardiovascular health (CVH) in early pregnancy affects placentation is not well characterized. Our objective was to estimate associations between CVH and concentrations of placental proteins. We hypothesized that more favorable CVH metrics would be associated with more favorable circulating concentrations of pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), placental growth factor (PlGF), soluble FMS-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), and soluble endoglin (sEng) in the 1st and 2nd trimesters. METHODS: Participants from the nuMoM2b prospective cohort with valid biomarker measures were included (n = 2188). Maternal CVH was defined using the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 composite score, averaging six components measured in the 1st trimester: body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, physical activity, diet, sleep duration, and smoking. Individual component scores were also evaluated. Linear regression associated scores with 1st and 2nd trimester circulating placental biomarkers. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Higher (more favorable) composite CVH scores were associated with higher PAPP-A (favorable) in both trimesters. In contrast, higher CVH scores were associated with lower VEGF, higher sFlt-1, and higher sEng in the 1st trimester (adverse). Healthier BMI scores demonstrated similar associations as those found with composite CVH. Greater physical activity was associated with more favorable 1st trimester profiles (higher VEGF and lower sFlt-1), but lower 2nd trimester PAPP-A. Composite CVH, potentially driven by BMI and physical activity components, may be an important factor relating to circulating concentrations of placental biomarkers in the first half of pregnancy.
Source: Placenta
Language: English
Subfield: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,720
Funders: Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Office of Research on Women's Health, Office of Disease Prevention, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1421591325, Preterm Birth in Nulliparous Women: An Understudied Population at Great Risk, Pregnancy as a Window to Future Cardiovascular Health: Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes, Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, G2759231441, G2915998857, Pregnancy as a Window to Future Cardiovascular Health, Preterm Birth in Nulliparous Women: An Understudied Population at Great Risk, UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Preterm Birth in Nulliparous Women: An Understudied Population at Great Risk , G3555406479, G3788327699, G3811829134, G3956464655, G409319813, G4133694970, Pregnancy as a Window for Future Cardiovascular Health, Pregnancy as a Window to Future Cardiovascular Health, G5193801537, Pregnancy as a Window to Future Cardiovascular Health, Pregnancy as a Window to Future Cardiovascular Health, Pregnancy as a Window to Future Cardiovascular Health, G589439662, Pregnancy as a Window to Future Cardiovascular Health, G6398870566, G7356709694, Preterm Birth in Nulliparous Women: An Understudied Population at Great Risk, G7664677164, Pregnancy as a Window to Future Cardiovascular Health, Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative of Cleveland, Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, G8691667236, Dissecting the Genetic Etiology of Preterm Birth in Nulliparous Women, Continuation of the NuMoM2b Heart Health Study, Sedentary Behavior and Cardiovascular Health in Young Women, Cardiovascular Epidemiology Training Program, G936184327
OpenAlex ID: W4414400798