Effects of acculturation on gestational biology in Mexican-American pregnant women

文化适应对墨西哥裔美国孕妇妊娠生物学的影响

• 批准号: 9391767
• 负责人: Molly Maurer Fox
• 金额: $ 11.66万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-06-15 至 2020-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9391767
• 关键词: Effects; acculturation; gestational; biology; Mexican

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): RESEARCH SUMMARY. The importance of elucidating the biobehavioral determinants of health disparities in minority populations, and particularly among Mexican immigrants in the U.S., is well established. In this context, an important issue that warrants further investigation relates to the underlying cause(s) of epidemiologic observations that Mexican immigrants exhibit a progressive decline in health (particularly obesity) over time and across generations. The construct of acculturation (post‐migration socio‐cultural adjustment) is often invoked as an explanation because acculturation produces psychological and behavioral changes that affect health. But, this paradigm does not address intergenerational decline in health. First, I suggest that the intergenerational decline in health (particularly escalation in obesity rates) could be a consequence of acculturation‐related biological changes in women. During pregnancy, these changes may be transmitted to the next generation (the fetus) to influence offspring phenotypes that determine susceptibility for obesity (adiposity). A necessary step towards investigating this hypothesis is determining whether, in fact, acculturation is associated with changes in aspects of gestational biology involved in the fetal programming of offspring adiposity. Second, I suggest that many of the inconsistencies of findings across studies in the acculturation‐health literatur may relate to limitations of operationalization of the acculturation construct, and failure to consider the role of social context as an effect modifier (context of reception; contrast of life i origin/host countries). My proposal seeks to address both these important limitations. In Project 1 I will develop, in a population‐based, representative sample of 1,000 pregnant women, an improved measure of acculturation for Mexican immigrants optimized for health research. In Project 2, in a separate sample of 100 pregnant women, I will evaluate the hypothesis that acculturation status is associated with key indicators of gestational biology implicated in offspring obesity risk. My proposed study incorporates the following Aims: 1. Develop measures of acculturation and socio‐cultural context in Mexican immigrant women. 2: Administer and optimize measures of acculturation and socio‐cultural context in a representative, population‐based cohort of pregnant Mexican immigrant women. 3. Psychometric validation of acculturation and socio‐cultural context instruments. 4. Test the hypothesis that acculturation and socio‐cultural context are associated with gestational biology (stress and metabolic biomarkers related to fetal programming of obesity). Findings from this project will reveal new information about the health status of vulnerable populations (Mexican immigrants, their unborn children) and serve as a platform for future studies of maternal acculturation and fetal programming, which, in turn, could lead to new avenues for early identification of at‐risk individuals, and for prevention/intervention strategies to limit the intergenerational perpetuation of disadvantage and poor health. CANDIDATE SUMMARY. I am primarily interested in the concepts of biological embedding of socio‐ecological conditions, and the fetal origins of health and disease paradigm. My career goal is to become an independent investigator in human developmental biology with R01 funding, addressing key questions related to a) how an individual's social and environmental ecology influences biological systems, and b) how biological links between generations affect the development of homeostatic mechanisms associated with chronic disease risk. My short‐ term career goals are a) to apply the frameworks of evolutionary and developmental biology towards addressing immigrant and minority health, and b) to investigate the socio‐cultural effects of migration on gestational biology. My past and current research has been guided by an interest in female reproductive function as a biological continuum between generations, and what this can reveal about health and disease. I was trained in the inter‐ disciplinary field of Biological Anthropology at Yale University and University of Cambridge. CAREER DEVELOPMENT PLAN SUMMARY. My training plan is designed to allow me to acquire the professional and technical skills necessary for a successful transition to independence as a Human Developmental Biologist with a focus in life‐course determinants of chronic disease. I will attain a Master of Science in Biomedical and Translational Science degree during Years 1‐2 of the K01 award period. I will be mentored by a team of prominent experts in their respective fields, led by Prof. Pathik Wadhwa (a leader in the field of prenatal stress biology and DOHaD), with co-mentor Prof. Greg Duncan (a leader in the field of development science and member of the National Academy of Sciences) among others, and receive specialized short‐term training from a team of distinguished faculty at other universitie, including Prof. John Berry (founder of the field of acculturation studies). ENVIRONMENT SUMMARY. Based in the UC Irvine Development, Health and Disease Research Program (DHDRP), which is currently funded by multiple major NIH grants, I will have myriad resources, including an inter‐ disciplinary team of 30 senior investigators to provide an intellectually productive environment, research staff, office, and laboratory facilities, and experiential education in state‐of‐the‐art methods for studies of maternal‐ placental‐fetal gestationa biology (including epigenetics, telomere and mitochondrial biology), fetal development, and newborn, infant and child outcomes related to body composition, metabolic function and brain development. The UCI Institute of Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS), funded by the NIH Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (CTSA) program, provides particular support to junior scientists including research design, advanced biostatistics, community engagement, bioassay platforms, and training opportunities, that will directly benefit my training and career development.

 描述（由申请人提供）： 研究摘要。阐明少数族裔，特别是美国的墨西哥移民健康差异的生物行为决定因素的重要性是众所周知的。在这种情况下，值得进一步调查的一个重要问题涉及流行病学观察的根本原因，即墨西哥移民随着时间的推移和几代人的健康状况（特别是肥胖）逐渐下降。文化适应（移民后社会文化调整）的结构经常被用来作为解释，因为文化适应会产生影响健康的心理和行为变化。但是，这种范式并没有解决代际健康状况下降的问题。首先，我认为健康状况的代际下降（特别是肥胖率的上升）可能是女性与文化适应相关的生物变化的结果。在怀孕期间，这些变化可能会遗传给下一代（胎儿），从而影响后代表型，从而决定肥胖（肥胖）的易感性。研究这一假设的必要步骤是确定文化适应实际上是否与涉及后代肥胖的胎儿编程的妊娠生物学方面的变化有关。其次，我认为文化适应-健康文献研究结果的许多不一致可能与文化适应结构的操作化局限性有关，以及未能考虑社会背景作为效果调节剂的作用（接受背景；原籍国/东道国的生活对比）。我的建议旨在解决这两个重要的限制。在项目 1 中，我将在基于人口的 1,000 名孕妇的代表性样本中开发一种改进的墨西哥移民文化适应措施，并针对健康研究进行优化。在项目 2 中，我将在 100 名孕妇的单独样本中评估以下假设：文化适应状态与与后代肥胖风险有关的妊娠生物学关键指标相关。我提出的研究包含以下目标： 1. 制定墨西哥移民妇女的文化适应和社会文化背景的衡量标准。 2：在具有代表性的、基于人口的墨西哥移民孕妇群体中管理和优化文化适应和社会文化背景的措施。 3.文化适应和社会文化背景工具的心理测量验证。 4. 检验文化适应和社会文化背景与妊娠生物学相关的假设（与胎儿肥胖编程相关的压力和代谢生物标志物）。该项目的研究结果将揭示有关弱势群体（墨西哥移民及其未出生的孩子）健康状况的新信息，并作为未来研究孕产妇文化适应和胎儿编程的平台，这反过来又可能为早期识别高危个体以及制定预防/干预策略以限制弱势和不良健康状况的代际延续提供新途径。候选人摘要。我主要对社会生态条件的生物嵌入概念以及健康和疾病范式的胎儿起源感兴趣。我的职业目标是通过 R01 资助成为人类发育生物学的独立研究者，解决与以下相关的关键问题：a) 个人的社会和环境生态如何影响生物系统，b) 代际之间的生物联系如何影响与慢性病风险相关的稳态机制的发展。我的短期职业目标是：a）应用进化和发育生物学的框架来解决移民和少数族裔的健康问题；b）研究移民对妊娠生物学的社会文化影响。我过去和现在的研究都是以女性生殖功能作为代际间的生物连续体以及这可以揭示健康和疾病的兴趣为指导的。我在耶鲁大学和剑桥大学接受了生物人类学跨学科领域的培训。职业发展计划摘要。我的培训计划旨在让我获得成功过渡为独立的人类发育生物学家所需的专业和技术技能，重点关注慢性疾病的生命历程决定因素。我将在 K01 奖励期的第 1-2 年获得生物医学和转化科学理学硕士学位。我将得到由Pathik Wadhwa教授（产前应激生物学和DOHaD领域的领导者）领导的各自领域的杰出专家团队的指导，共同导师Greg Duncan教授（发展科学领域的领导者，美国国家科学院院士）等，并接受来自其他大学的杰出教师团队的专门短期培训，其中包括John Berry教授 （文化适应研究领域的创始人）。环境摘要。加州大学欧文分校发展、健康和疾病研究计划 (DHDRP) 目前由 NIH 多项主要拨款资助，我将拥有大量资源，包括由 30 名高级研究人员组成的跨学科团队，提供智力生产力环境、研究人员、办公室和实验室设施，以及用于研究母体胎盘胎儿妊娠生物学（包括表观遗传学、 端粒和线粒体生物学）、胎儿发育以及与身体成分、代谢功能和大脑发育相关的新生儿、婴儿和儿童结局。 UCI 临床和转化科学研究所 (ICTS) 由 NIH 临床和转化科学奖 (CTSA) 项目资助，为初级科学家提供特别支持，包括研究设计、高级生物统计学、社区参与、生物测定平台和培训机会，这将直接有利于我的培训和职业发展。