Environmental toxins and kids’ heart health over time
Official title: Environmental Toxicants and Cardiovascular Health Trajectories Across Childhood and Adolescence
Funded at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC. · NIH-11447890 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how exposure to environmental pollutants may shape heart health from early childhood through young adulthood in families followed over years.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Canton, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | August 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $571,839 |
| NIH project number | 1R01HL183379-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11447890 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates include children from birth through adolescence in the Project Viva cohort or similar populations exposed to environmental toxicants.
✕Less likely to help
Children without exposure data or those outside the studied age range may have limited direct relevance to the findings.
What this research studies
If funded, researchers will use data from 1,332 mother–child pairs in the Project Viva study to follow how metals, PFAS, and air pollution relate to heart-health scores across childhood and into adulthood. They will combine environmental exposure data with the Life’s Essential 8 framework to map trajectories of cardiovascular health from age 3 onward. The study aims to identify when and how exposure alters CVH, so interventions can start early to protect kids’ heart health.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Understanding how early exposures affect heart health could lead to earlier prevention strategies for children and better long-term cardiovascular outcomes.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work suggests environmental exposures can influence cardiovascular risk factors, but this project aims to map long-term CVH trajectories in a large pediatric cohort.
Where this research is happening
-
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC.
Canton, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Aris, Izzuddin — Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC.
- Study coordinator: Aris, Izzuddin
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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.