BabyGRO 2
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Early-life identifiers of later-life cardiometabolic disease: BabyGRO 2
IRAS ID
327547
Contact name
Reena Perchard
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) describes a group of conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels, such as heart disease and stroke. CVD is the leading cause of deaths worldwide. Babies who are born small are at greater risk of CVD in later-life, likely due to problems that the “fetus” (unborn baby) experienced in the womb. The “placenta” (sometimes called the afterbirth) gives the fetus nutrients and oxygen so placental problems can slow down its growth. However, if a fetus was quite large to start with, it may still have growth problems in the womb and not be picked up as a small baby at birth.
In our previous study (BabyGRO), 70% of children had slowing of growth in the womb but only 10% were born small. We demonstrated value in studying fetal growth and also used blood gene expression (differences in the underlying activity of a gene) to find pathways and possible markers to indicate which children would be at greater risk of CVD in later-life .
Within this single-site study, we will
a)extend this work from childhood (three-to-seven years in BabyGRO) to early-life (three-months postnatal) and
b) not only look at differences in gene expression but also specific genetics variations linked with those
c)Look for overlaps between genetic variations found in the infant cohort at three-months postnatal, and adult genetic variations relating to heart attacks in existing data (from UK Biobank)Each baby will undergo growth Measurements at birth and at three months postnatal. At three months, a blood sample will also be collected so that we can understand more about genes and their activity in relation to later life disease.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/EM/0242
Date of REC Opinion
19 Oct 2023
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion