How early-life chemical exposures relate to teen sleep and body stress
Pre- and postnatal chemical mixture exposure, adolescent sleep health, and allostatic load
This project looks at whether chemicals people pick up before birth and in early childhood affect teenagers' sleep and increase long-term physical stress.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Louisville NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Louisville, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11146441 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will use health information and stored biosamples from two long-term pregnancy and birth groups to measure chemicals pregnant people and young children were exposed to, focusing on phthalates, PFAS, and metals. They will compare those early-life exposure levels to teenagers' sleep patterns and to biological signs of 'allostatic load'—measures of inflammation, metabolism, blood pressure, and stress hormones. Sleep will be characterized using questionnaires and likely sleep monitoring, and biological stress will be calculated from blood and other clinical measures. The goal is to see whether common early exposures help explain poor sleep in adolescence so families and doctors can better prevent or manage these risks.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are pregnant people, infants, or adolescents from the two cohort studies or families concerned about early-life chemical exposures affecting teen sleep.
Not a fit: People whose sleep problems are clearly due to unrelated causes like current shift work, untreated psychiatric conditions, or known genetic sleep disorders may not receive direct benefit from this research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to preventable chemical exposures that reduce teen sleep problems and lower long-term physiological wear-and-tear.
How similar studies have performed: Previous studies have linked single chemicals to sleep or metabolic changes, but linking prenatal mixtures to adolescent sleep and allostatic load is relatively new and less tested.
Where this research is happening
Louisville, United States
- University of Louisville — Louisville, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sears, Clara G — University of Louisville
- Study coordinator: Sears, Clara G
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.