Friday, October 1, 2021

A growing body of evidence supports a role for environmental contaminants, such as air pollutants and toxic metals, in the development and progression of cardiometabolic disease in adults. However, relatively little is known about the influence of these exposures on cardiovascular and metabolic disease risk during vulnerable lifestages, such as childhood, adolescence and pregnancy. For example, pregnancy may act as a window of susceptibility to environmental exposures, but relatively few studies have explored the effects of environmental contaminants on maternal prenatal and postpartum health. Among children, in utero and early life exposures may impact subclinical markers of cardiovascular dysfunction, with potential implications for cardiovascular health trajectories. As such, these lifestages may represent critical periods for intervention, as exposures during these times may exacerbate the risk of long-term cardiometabolic health effects. In this seminar, Dr. Farzan will discuss emerging research in this area, with examples from her work investigating the role of prenatal environmental exposures and psychosocial stressors on maternal perinatal cardiometabolic health, as well as the role of metals and air pollutants on subclinical indicators of cardiovascular disease risk from childhood to young adulthood.