How early-life stress and air pollution affect children's brains and risk of obesity
Stress-Air Pollution Interactions and Adolescent Neurobehavior
This project looks at whether stress and air pollution around the time of pregnancy and early childhood shape kids' thinking, mood, and chances of becoming overweight during childhood and adolescence.
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 ID | NIH-11101292 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Families are followed from the perinatal period into childhood and adolescence while researchers track air pollution levels at home addresses and measure household stress. Children will have regular checks of weight, behavior, mood, and tests that reflect brain-related traits like inhibitory control. The team links early exposures to how these brain-related traits and emotions change over time before adolescent obesity emerges. Data come from long-term follow-up visits, environmental exposure modeling, and behavioral assessments.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are pregnant people and their children (followed from birth) or families with young children who can share address history and attend follow-up visits through childhood and adolescence.
Not a fit: People without early-life exposure information or adults beyond adolescence seeking treatment for established adult obesity are unlikely to directly benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to early, preventable exposures and behavioral markers to lower the chance of adolescent obesity and related mood or learning problems.
How similar studies have performed: Previous DOHaD research has linked early-life exposures to later obesity and mental health outcomes, but combining air pollution, stress, and childhood neurobehavior in a long-term follow-up is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
New York, United States
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai — New York, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wright, Robert O — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Wright, Robert O
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.