How cannabis use in pregnancy may affect kids' body fat and heart/metabolic health
Official title: Prenatal exposure to cannabis and child cardiometabolic health outcomes
Funded at University of Colorado Denver · NIH-11164789 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether cannabis use during pregnancy is linked to changes in children's growth, body fat, and early heart and metabolic health.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Colorado Denver NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Aurora, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | August 15, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $195,000 |
| NIH project number | 5R21DA061104-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11164789 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are pregnant people or parents whose child experienced prenatal cannabis exposure, especially those enrolled in or similar to the Colorado Healthy Start cohort.
✕Less likely to help
People without prenatal cannabis exposure or whose children are outside the ages covered by the cohort are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this work.
What this research studies
You or your child could be part of data already collected in the Colorado Healthy Start pregnancy cohort, where pregnant people were enrolled between 2010 and 2014. The team will measure exposure to specific cannabinoids (like Δ9-THC and CBD), consider when during pregnancy exposure happened, and follow children's growth, body fat, glucose, and other cardiometabolic measures in early childhood. They will analyze whether certain cannabinoids or developmental windows raise risk and whether protective factors reduce that risk. Results will help parents and clinicians understand possible long-term effects of prenatal cannabis exposure.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could help pregnant people and clinicians better understand risks from prenatal cannabis and identify timing or protective factors to lower children's cardiometabolic risk.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies consistently link prenatal cannabis to lower birth weight and small pilot work suggests faster early growth and higher adiposity, but the distinct roles of Δ9-THC versus CBD and sensitive exposure windows are not yet well tested.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Colorado Denver
Aurora, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Moore, Brianna F — University of Colorado Denver
- Study coordinator: Moore, Brianna F
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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How prenatal cannabis exposure affects children's heart and metabolic health
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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.