Caitlin Dreisbach
Early Career Tenure-track Researcher, University of Rochester
2 active projects
Maternal Heart Rate and Post Partum Complications
Scientific Questions Being Studied
The physiological changes to a mother’s body during pregnancy provides a window into future health risk. The average increase in maternal heart rate is 20 bpm; however, new evidence suggests this may range between 5-40 bpm. A major limitation of previous studies is that heart rate was measured at fixed time points and not continuously. New wearable technologies can accurately perform continuous heart rate monitoring, providing an opportunity to define normal and abnormal heart rates during pregnancy and determine the predictive value of abnormal heart rates on maternal complications. Our aims are to: (1) To describe the ranges for normal and abnormal heart rates using wearable devices among a cohort of pregnant women (2) To assess whether periods of abnormal heart rate (tachycardic and bradycardic) predict maternal complications within the first year postpartum (3) To explore minute-by-minute fluctuations in heart rate predict maternal complications within the first year postpartum.
Project Purpose(s)
- Disease Focused Research (cardiovascular system disease)
- Social / Behavioral
- Methods Development
Scientific Approaches
We will curate a subset of data from the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program for secondary analysis. We will use descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, median, interquartile range) to describe daily, weekly, monthly, and trimester fluctuations in heart rate. We will examine within-person and across-person fluctuations in heart rate before, during, and after pregnancy. Using these models, we will define normal and abnormal heart rates. We will explore differences in heart rates across age, race/ethnicity, educational level, annual household income, age, body-mass index, and comorbidities. We will use logistic regression to see if periods of tachycardia and bradycardia, defined based on the established ranges, predict a composite outcome of 1-year maternal complications.
Anticipated Findings
We hypothesize that periods of tachycardia and bradycardia, and specifically fewer minute-to-minute heart rate fluctuations, predict maternal complications in the postpartum period.
Demographic Categories of Interest
- Race / Ethnicity
- Geography
- Access to Care
- Education Level
- Income Level
Data Set Used
Registered TierResearch Team
Owner:
- Mehmed Aktas - Undergraduate Student, University of Rochester
- Dillon Dzikowicz - Early Career Tenure-track Researcher, University of Rochester
- Caitlin Dreisbach - Early Career Tenure-track Researcher, University of Rochester
Collaborators:
- Carol Li - Undergraduate Student, University of Rochester
Contraception
Scientific Questions Being Studied
Previous studies have been able to map variations in medication administration and treatment decisions in conditions like Type 2 Diabetes and substance abuse disorder. Similar to contraception, there are many options for the treatment of high blood sugar and substance use and may be a complex decision-making process between personal and provider preferences. No currently published work has mapped the contraception decisions of an individual over time. My goal is to quantify the variation in contraception prescriptions for individuals in the All of Us Research Program dataset.
The overall objective of this project is to understand contraception prescription patterns in individuals who identify as female within the All of Us dataset.
(1) What are the most prevalent types of contraception? (2) Has there been a change in the percentages of participants who were prescribed a particular contraceptive? (3) What are the most common sequences of contraceptive prescriptions?
Project Purpose(s)
- Educational
- Methods Development
Scientific Approaches
A retrospective, longitudinal analysis will be conducted using the All of Us Research Program dataset to identify contraceptive prescribing patterns for individuals who identify as female in the United States. First, we will use the Cohort Builder within the workbench to identify all eligible adult participants (≥18 years of age) who identify as female. We will then limit the cohort to just individuals who have a medication record of at least one contraceptive including, birth control pills (e.g., Microgestin), IUDs (e.g., Levonorgestrel [Mirena]), implants (e.g., Etonogestrel [Nexplanon]), and injections (e.g., Depo-Provera). I will use R within the All of Us Researcher Workbench to complete the study objectives.
Anticipated Findings
I anticipate that I will be able to complete the study objectives within the timeframe of the summer. Overall, the anticipated results of the project will have a significant positive impact on the field of contraception research and ultimately improve the quality of care for individuals seeking contraception. In the long term, I expect to develop predictive models that can help healthcare providers identify the most effective contraceptive methods for individual patients based on their characteristics and preferences. More excitingly, I am looking forward to the project that will conduct and provide some educational resources which help individuals and healthcare providers make decisions.
Demographic Categories of Interest
This study will not center on underrepresented populations.
Data Set Used
Registered TierResearch Team
Owner:
- Caitlin Dreisbach - Early Career Tenure-track Researcher, University of Rochester
- Carol Li - Undergraduate Student, University of Rochester
Request a Review of this Research Project
You can request that the All of Us Resource Access Board (RAB) review a research purpose description if you have concerns that this research project may stigmatize All of Us participants or violate the Data User Code of Conduct in some other way. To request a review, you must fill in a form, which you can access by selecting ‘request a review’ below.
