Since its initial outbreak in late 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has ravaged the globe, causing illness characterized by inflammation and impaired oxygen levels. As a particularly vulnerable group, pregnant women have had a heightened prevalence and severity of infection. In this context, a new population of children has emerged who were exposed to maternal COVID-19 in the womb. As maternal diseases during pregnancy may impact the health of offspring over the life course, health outcomes among these individuals must be urgently evaluated. In the current study, the investigators will leverage a perinatal biorepository comprised of pregnant women with and without COVID-19 to delineate the metabolic and cardiovascular risk profiles of these offspring. This work stands to benefit the burgeoning population of children exposed to COVID-19 in the womb and to deepen the mechanistic understanding of developmental origins of cardiometabolic disease with respect to maternal infections.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
86
Born to mother with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Aortic pulse-wave velocity
Time frame: Baseline
Skinfold thicknesses (subscapular, triceps)
Time frame: Baseline
Weight-for-length z-score
Time frame: Baseline
Systolic and diastolic blood pressure
Time frame: Baseline
Beta index of aortic stiffness using echocardiogram
Time frame: Baseline
Aortic intima-media thickness using echocardiogram
Time frame: Baseline
Urinary angiotensin peptide levels
Time frame: Baseline
Urinary angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) levels
Time frame: Baseline
Left ventricular mass
Time frame: Baseline
Left ventricular dimensions
Time frame: Baseline
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