Effects of physical activity on placental analytes in nulliparous persons

INTRODUCTION

Physical activity during pregnancy has long been investigated for its role in preeclampsia prevention. The mechanism of this relationship is unknown, although some studies suggest physical activity may affect placental analytes throughout pregnancy. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of physical activity on preeclampsia-associated placental analytes using a prospective cohort of pregnant nulliparous patients.

METHODS

This was a secondary analysis of the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-Be. Frequency and duration of up to three leisure activities was reported in the first and second trimesters and was analyzed, with participants either meeting or not meeting the recommended exercise of 150 min per week. Levels of the following placental analytes, placental growth factor, soluble endoglin, and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFLT1), were analyzed stratified by the physical activity level.

RESULTS

A total of 1,956 participants were included in the analysis. The level of sFLT1 in the first trimester was lower in the group that had ≥ 150 min per week of physical activity, compared to the group that had < 150 min (846.3 [821.6, 871,8] versus 893.0 [864.5,922.5], p = 0.017). There were no significant sFLT1 changes in the second trimester based on physical activity. After controlling for maternal demographic and clinical factors, sFLT1 levels in the second trimester were significantly lower (p = 0.049) in participants that had ≥ 150 min of physical activity per week.

DISCUSSION

Our findings of decreased sFLT1 levels suggest this could be the mechanism explaining the association between PA in pregnancy and lower risk of preeclampsia.

Searching and visualizing genetic associations of pregnancy traits by using GnuMoM2b

Adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) are major risk factors for women's health during pregnancy and even in the years after pregnancy. Due to the heterogeneity of APOs, only few genetic associations have been identified. In this report, we conducted genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of 479 traits that are possibly related to APOs using a large and racially diverse study, Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-Be (nuMoM2b). To display extensive results, we developed a web-based tool GnuMoM2b (https://gnumom2b.cumcobgyn.org/) for searching, visualizing, and sharing results from a GWAS of 479 pregnancy traits as well as phenome-wide association studies of more than 17 million single nucleotide polymorphisms. The genetic results from 3 ancestries (Europeans, Africans, and Admixed Americans) and meta-analyses are populated in GnuMoM2b. In conclusion, GnuMoM2b is a valuable resource for extraction of pregnancy-related genetic results and shows the potential to facilitate meaningful discoveries.