How sleep during pregnancy may affect a child's heart and metabolic health
Official title: Prenatal sleep and pathways to offspring cardiometabolic risk
Funded at University of Denver (Colorado Seminary) · NIH-11260273 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looks at whether sleep patterns during pregnancy change a child's risk for heart and metabolic problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Denver (Colorado Seminary) NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Denver, United States) |
| Project start | January 17, 2025 |
| Project end | November 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $652,346 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL177297-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11260273 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pregnant people early in pregnancy who can wear a sleep monitor and attend follow-up visits for themselves and their infants are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not pregnant, whose children are no longer infants, or who cannot commit to wearing monitors or attending follow-up visits are unlikely to benefit directly.
What this research studies
You would be followed through pregnancy with sleep measured using a wearable monitor and other health checks. Researchers will collect blood and other biological measures to study stress and inflammation, and then follow your baby to track growth, body fat, and early cardiometabolic markers. The team will combine sleep data with these biological and growth measures to understand pathways linking prenatal sleep to child heart and metabolic health. If you are pregnant and willing to wear a sleep monitor and bring your baby for follow-up visits, you could take part.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could identify sleep-related pregnancy factors that lead to new guidance or interventions to lower children's future heart and metabolic disease risk.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies using self-reported sleep have linked prenatal sleep to child cardiometabolic risk, but using objective, longitudinal sleep measures and detailed biological pathways is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Denver (Colorado Seminary)
Denver, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Davis, Elysia Poggi — University of Denver (Colorado Seminary)
- Study coordinator: Davis, Elysia Poggi
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.