Perinatal exposures and long-term risk for dementia in pregnant women, their partners and offspring

Research problem and specific questionsPregnancy and postpartum are taxing periods for pregnant women and their partners and critical for offspring development.

Placental dysfunction and maternal vascular abnormalities in pregnant women, psychiatric disorders in both partners and the adverse outcomes in offspring may contribute to dementia development.

Yet, there is a lack of high-quality studies focusing on the entire spectrum of perinatal exposures (adverse pregnancy outcomes and perinatal psychiatric disorders) and the long-term risk of dementia.

Moreover, prospective data are urgently needed to demonstrate the potential role of socioeconomic inequalities and psychiatric disorders modulate this risk.Data and methodLeveraging nationwide Swedish registers, we aim to study the long-term dementia risk of perinatal exposures among three risk groups: pregnant women, their partners and offspring.

We aim to estimate long-term risk of dementia among: 1) pregnant women with perinatal exposures, compared to individuals without perinatal exposures, by disease severity; 2) partners with perinatal psychiatric disorders, compared to individuals without perinatal psychiatric disorders, using population and spouse comparison analyses; 3) offspring of pregnant women with perinatal exposures, compared to offspring of individuals without perinatal exposures, using population and sibling comparison analyses.

Also, we will explore the potential role (mediator, effect modifier, interaction) of socioeconomic status and psychiatric disorders.Societal relevance and utilizationUnderstanding the relationship between perinatal exposures and dementia, while considering social inequalities and psychiatric disorders, may uncover new risk factors for dementia.

This may contribute to the development of early intervention strategies and improved care, eventually resulting in a reduced burden of dementia.Plan for project realizationThe applicant has extensive experience in conducting epidemiological studies on maternal and perinatal health, dementia, and psychiatric comorbidities in dementia, and is familiar with the registries and population-based cohorts in this project.

The applicant is backed by a team of specialists in geriatrics, internal medicine, neurology, nephrology, and psychiatry, with extensive research experience in dementia, cardio and cerebrovascular epidemiology and the Swedish care system. The budget will be mainly used to cover the salary of the applicant over 3-years.