Pregnancy is considered as a ‘stress test’ whereby underlying cardiometabolic susceptibility may be revealed (i.e., hypertension during pregnancy, gestational diabetes, preterm birth). Women with complicated pregnancy are high-risk groups for subsequent cardiometabolic disorders (type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases). The aims of this project are to conduct prospective and longitudinal investigations following women with a history of pregnancy complicated by cardiometabolic disorders such as GDM and gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, preterm birth to:

• Identify factors that may ameliorate such adverse impact.
• Understand early etiology of chronic conditions at high risk for women developing complications in pregnancy.
• Identify early predictors including both exogenous (e.g., lifestyle, environmental) and endogenous (e.g., genetics) factors.
• Investigate cardio-metabolic health among these high-risk women.

Data from the Nurses’ Health Study II, a prospective longitudinal female cohort of U.S. nurses followed for more than 30 years is available to use and to address the study aims. The NHS II contains rich longitudinal data on health-related characteristics including diet, physical activity, and reproductive history. As part of the Diabetes & Women’s Health Study (DWH Study), we additionally prospectively collected biosamples measuring cardiometabolic markers and micriobiomes among NHS II participants who reported a history of GDM. Genetic data is also available in participants in NHS II and DWH Study.