Early life air pollution and kids' heart health
Official title: Early life household air pollution, metal composition and cardiovascular health: Evidence from GRAPHS
Funded at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · NIH-11398571 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study following children to see how exposure to household and outdoor air pollution from cooking fires and smoke affects heart health as they grow up.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | September 7, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $444,312 |
| NIH project number | 5R01ES034433-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11398571 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are children from birth to age 12 whose early-life exposure to household or ambient air pollution may be changing their cardiovascular development.
✕Less likely to help
Children without exposure concerns or those outside the study’s age range may see little direct benefit.
What this research studies
Researchers will build on an existing pregnancy study in Ghana to track kids from birth to age 12, looking at how early life air pollution and metal pollutants influence cardiovascular development. The project will collect environmental data and health measurements to understand long-term heart health risks starting in the first year of life. By comparing exposure levels with cardiovascular outcomes, the study aims to identify factors that could be targeted to protect children’s heart health.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could guide policies and interventions to reduce harmful air exposures and improve heart health from early childhood onward.
How similar studies have gone: Similar cohorts have linked early air pollution to later cardiovascular changes, but this study adds metal exposure analysis to strengthen the evidence.
Where this research is happening
-
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lee, Alison G — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Lee, Alison G
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.