Descripción del proyecto
Investigación de la infertilidad y la conexión con las enfermedades cardiovasculares
Es posible que las parejas que no son fértiles presenten un riesgo más elevado de sufrir enfermedades cardiovasculares (ECV). Sin embargo, es necesario comprender diversos factores antes de establecer una relación entre causa y efecto. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos INFERTILITY se basa en la hipótesis de que los hombres y las mujeres que no son fértiles corren un mayor riesgo de sufrir ECV y esto podría estar asociado, al menos en parte, con factores de riesgo de este tipo de enfermedad. El proyecto analizará esta hipótesis usando como variables instrumentales marcadores genéticos y datos de estudios de cohortes y registros sanitarios nacionales de Noruega y el Reino Unido. Por otra parte, evaluará si las trayectorias cardiometabólicas de los hijos están relacionadas con los problemas de fertilidad de los padres. Los hallazgos nos permitirán comprender mejor si cualquier posible interconexión entre la ECV y la infertilidad se transmite de una generación a otra.
Objetivo
The burden of infertility is high across Europe. Modest evidence indicates that infertile couples might have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but several questions need clarification to establish a cause-and-effect relationship. This includes understanding: whether both infertile men and women have an increased risk of CVD; how well-known risk factors for CVD (blood-pressure, body-mass index, cholesterol and smoking) relate to infertility; whether there exists common genetic determinants of infertility and CVD; and whether the connection between infertility and CVD in women can be explained by the use of assisted reproductive technologies or pregnancy complications. These questions will be answered by the INFERTILITY project. The working hypothesis of INFERTILITY is that both infertile men and women have an increased risk of CVD, and that this might at least partly reflect a greater burden of CVD risk factors. I will test this by using data from cohort studies and national health registries in Norway and the United Kingdom. I will use genetic markers as instrumental variables to establish the relationship between CVD risk factors and infertility. This is vital to understand whether infertile couples truly have an increased risk of CVD or whether infertility instead reflects a pre-existing propensity for CVD. I will conduct a genome-wide association study of infertility and identify overlapping genetic markers between any findings from this investigation and published studies of CVD. The INFERTILITY project will also clarify whether offspring cardiometabolic health trajectories differ according to parental fertility problems. This will highlight whether any relationship between infertility and CVD also crosses generations. The INFERTILITY project will elucidate whether infertile couples should be followed more closely to mitigate their risk of CVD and whether interventions targeting well-known CVD risk factors could reduce the burden of infertility.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-STG - Starting GrantInstitución de acogida
0456 Oslo
Noruega