Environmental bisphenol exposure, infant brain and behavior: Human and animal models

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This proposal leverages the infrastructure of longitudinal birth cohort study (the Fair Start Cohort within the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health) and supplements our investigation of the effects of prenatal bisphenol (BP) exposure on infant nervous system functioning and attention and maternal caregiving (R01ES030950) within the cohort. Prior animal studies show adverse effects of BP exposure on offspring brain development and mother-infant interaction; the R01 seeks to extend these findings to humans. This Administrative Supplement investigates the effects of exposure to experiences of discrimination and COVID- 19-related stress on peripartum depression (PeriPD) and sleep health in these same women. PeriPD and sleep disturbances are common in the perinatal period and negatively affect mother-infant interaction and child health outcomes. Nonetheless etiology of PeriPD and poor sleep health are unclear. Experiences of discrimination and COVID-19-related stress, which burden disproportionately people from racial/ethnic minority and economically disadvantaged backgrounds, have been shown to increase the risk for poor mental and sleep health. Nonetheless, their independent and synergistic role in the perinatal period has not been thoroughly investigated. Understanding upstream risk factors for maternal perinatal mental health and sleep health may provide actionable information to develop prevention and intervention strategies. The funded R01 recruits pregnant women from low income, ethnic/racial minority backgrounds from obstetric clinics associated with Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. In this underrepresented population, the risk for PeriPD and poor sleep health is high. This proposal will fund the assessment of PeriPD (self-report of symptoms, prenatal psychiatric interview), neural correlates of PeriPD (fMRI), and subjective and objective measures of sleep health (self- report of sleep quality, 1-week actigraphy, and 2 days sleep EEG monitoring). We will then investigate associations between experiences of discrimination and COVID-19-related stress and the measured outcomes in a sample of Latinx women from low income backgrounds who are at high risk of exposure to discrimination and COVID-19-related stress. We hypothesize that increased exposure to discrimination and COVID-19- related stress will be associated with increased depression and poorer sleep health in the postpartum period. Our plan is consistent with goals of the Notice of Special interest NOT-OD-21-071 targeting “psychosocial and behavioral health risk factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic that affect maternal mental health and functioning outcome and the impact of structural racism and discrimination (SRD) on maternal health outcomes in the context of COVID-19”. This proposal fills a critical gap in understanding the impact of discrimination and COVID-19-related stress on PeriPD and sleep in mothers from low income, ethnic/racial minority backgrounds at high risk of experiencing both discrimination and COVID-19-related stress.