How being born early may affect a child's future heart and metabolic health
Preterm Birth and Child Long-term Cardiometabolic Risk: Integrate Proteomics with Birth Cohort
Researchers are using blood samples and long-term health information from a mostly Black urban birth cohort to look for protein and metabolic signs that link preterm birth to higher risk of heart and metabolic problems in childhood and beyond.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11312587 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If your child was born before 37 weeks, this project looks for biological signals in maternal and cord blood that might explain higher later risk of conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, or unhealthy cholesterol. The team will use proteomics and related lab tests on stored samples from the Boston Birth Cohort and combine those results with years of clinical follow-up. They follow around 3,500 mother-child pairs from birth into childhood and young adulthood, focusing on a mostly low-income, Black urban population. The goal is to find early markers that could point to prevention or closer monitoring for at-risk children.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people born preterm (under 37 weeks) or parents of children born preterm from the Boston Birth Cohort or similar urban, predominantly Black communities who can be followed over time or provide biological samples.
Not a fit: People not born preterm or those seeking immediate treatment rather than long-term risk information are unlikely to benefit directly from this observational biomarker work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could help identify children born preterm who are at higher risk earlier, allowing for targeted monitoring or preventive care.
How similar studies have performed: Previous studies have linked preterm birth to later cardiometabolic risks and found metabolic differences, but combining large-scale proteomics with long-term birth-cohort follow-up is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
Baltimore, United States
- Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wang, Xiaobin — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Wang, Xiaobin
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 below.