Between 1994 and 1998, I earned a doctoral degree in epidemiology. During the past two years I have conducted research on the influence of pregnancy and behavioral factors on women's health and the etiology of obesity as a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente. My career goals are to examine the effects of pregnancy on the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes, and to expand my knowledge of genetic epidemiology. I am also interested in whether cumulative endogenous and exogenous reproductive hormone exposures (e.g., age at menarche, and hormonal contraceptive use) confound these relationships. To obtain research experience and training I plan to: 1. Use existing, computerized longitudinal databases to characterize pregnancy's long-term effects on changes in risk factors for CVD and type 2 diabetes among women of reproductive age. 2. Under the direction of my mentors; expand my knowledge of methodologies used to analyze longitudinal data. 3. Pursue independent study in genetic epidemiology with Dr. Neil Risch and conduct analyses using two databases to examine correlations of risk factors for female siblings and twins. 4. Attend workshops to acquire skills in writing grants, and courses in ethical conduct of research. Develop new R01 proposals based on the preliminary findings from the proposed analyses. A major strength of conducting research at Kaiser Permanente is the access to databases containing follow-up data on large cohorts of young women. I propose to utilize the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study database and other databases to evaluate the following hypotheses: 1. Is having a first birth during follow-up associated with more unfavorable changes in risk factors for CVD and type 2 diabetes compared with never having given birth? 2. Is the relationship altered by use (duration or dose) of hormonal contraceptives? 3. Do the effects of pregnancy on changes in risk factors differ by race (White vs Blacks), or baseline BMI(< 25 vs > 25)? 4. For parous women, is gestational gain positively associated with postpartum BMI and WHR?
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