Neighborhood and Individual Environmental Risk Factors in Early Life and -omics Biomarkers for Kidney Function Trajectories across Childhood and Adulthood
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Project Summary
This project capitalizes on extant data from an ongoing, highly engaged US pre-birth cohort (Project Viva) to examine the extent to which early-life exposure to disadvantaged neighborhood contexts and nephrotoxicants leads to later life kidney dysfunction and higher blood pressure. The project will also identify novel urinary protein biomarkers underlying altered kidney function and blood pressure trajectory from childhood to early adulthood.
Project Details
Cardiorenal health conditions, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hypertension (HTN), are substantial public health concerns that contribute significantly to US health care costs. Cardiorenal health conditions have developmental origins, whereby environmental stressors such as exposure to disadvantaged neighborhoods and nephrotoxicants (i.e., air pollution and metals) in utero and/or during childhood may disrupt nephrogenesis and kidney function maturation processes. Findings from this study will inform strategies to reduce CKD-related morbidity, preserve cardiorenal health across the lifecourse, and develop guidelines protective of populations.