Browsing by Author "Martin, Jonathan"

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    The Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) cohort study: rationale and methods
    (Maternal & Child Nutrition, 2014-01) Kaplan, Bonnie; Giesbrecht, Gerald; Leung, Brenda; Field, Catherine; Dewey, Deborah; Bell, Rhonda; Manca, Donna; O'Beirne, Maeve; Johnston, David; Pop, Victor; Singhal, Nalini; Gagnon, Lisa; Bernier, Francois; Eliasziw, Misha; McCargar, Linda; Kooistra, Libbe; Farmer, Anna; Cantell, Marja; Goonewardene, Laki; Casey, Linda; Letourneau, Nicole; Martin, Jonathan; APrON Study Team
    The Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study is an ongoing prospective cohort study that recruits pregnant women early in pregnancy and, as of 2012, is following up their infants to 3 years of age. It has currently enrolled approximately 5000 Canadians (2000 pregnant women, their offspring and many of their partners).The primary aims of the APrON study were to determine the relationships between maternal nutrient intake and status, before, during and after gestation, and (1) maternal mood; (2) birth and obstetric outcomes; and (3) infant neurodevelopment. We have collected comprehensive maternal nutrition, anthropometric, biological and mental health data at multiple points in the pregnancy and the post-partum period, as well as obstetrical, birth, health and neurodevelopmental outcomes of these pregnancies. The study continues to follow the infants through to 36 months of age.The current report describes the study design and methods, and findings of some pilot work. The APrON study is a significant resource with opportunities for collaboration.
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    Urinary bisphenol A is associated with dysregulation of HPA-axis function in pregnant women: Findings from the APrON cohort study.
    (Elsevier, 2016-11) Giesbrecht, Gerald; Liu, Jiaying; Ejaredar, Maede; Dewey, Deborah; Letourneau, Nicole; Campbell, Tavis; Martin, Jonathan
    Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) is associated with dysregulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in rodents, but evidence in humans is lacking.Objective: To determine whether BPA exposure during pregnancy is associated with dysregulation of the HPA-axis, we examined the association between urinary BPA concentrations and diurnal salivary cortisol in pregnant women. Secondary analyses investigated whether the association between BPA and cortisol was dependent on fetal sex. Methods: Diurnal salivary cortisol and urinary BPA were collected during pregnancy from 174 women in a longitudinal cohort study, the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study. Associations between BPA and daytime cortisol and the cortisol awakening response (CAR) were estimated using mixed models after adjusting for covariates. Results: Higher concentrations of total BPA uncorrected for urinary creatinine were associated with dysregulation of the daytime cortisol pattern, including reduced cortisol at waking, β=−.055, 95% CI (−.100, −.010) and a flatter daytime pattern, β=.014, 95% CI (.006, .022) and β=−.0007 95% CI (−.001, −.0002) for the linear and quadratic slopes, respectively. Effect sizes in creatinine corrected BPA models were slightly smaller. None of the interactions between fetal sex and BPA were significant (all 95% CI's include zero). Conclusions: These findings provide the first human evidence suggesting that BPA exposure is associated with dysregulation of HPA-axis function during pregnancy.