Maternal metabolomics in neonatal dried blood

ABSTRACT: Residential segregation is a fundamental determinant of racial disparities in health through neighborhood differences leading to high rates of chronic disease and lower life expectancy in these communities. According to the concept of “weathering”, cumulative exposure to the negative impacts of segregation over the life course wear at the physical and mental health of exposed communities. Spatial differences have been linked to stress responses, immune dysregulation, and heightened chronic inflammation among US Black individuals. Transfer of a propensity toward chronic inflammation from mother to infant can create an intergenerational cycle of poor health, leading to the health disparities observed today. We posit that maternal exposure to residential segregation is linked to observed evidence of initial stages of disease processes in their offspring. We propose to examine the association between maternal lifetime exposure to residential segregation and the presence of inflammatory markers in the child’s neonatal dried blood spots (DBS) using a cohort of women who have delivered a child at Henry Ford Health (HFH), a Detroit-based health care organization. DBS are routinely collected at birth and stored by the State of Michigan.