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Oxidative stress and fetal weight: observational findings from a pregnancy cohort in New York City

Journal of Perinatology (2025)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective

To examine associations between oxidative stress and fetal weight across pregnancy.

Study design

Cohort study of pregnant participants from 2016-2021 in New York City with urinary lipid, protein, and DNA oxidative stress biomarkers (<18, 18–25, >25 weeks) and estimated fetal weight from ultrasound fetal biometry with the HadlockIII formula (20, 30, 36 weeks).

Result

Among 1408 participants, oxidative stress biomarkers of lipid peroxidation and DNA damage were associated with smaller estimated fetal weight at 30 and 36 weeks (ranging from B = –3.9 grams/unit increase [95% CI: –6.9, –0.9; 8,15 − PGF2α] to –20.3 [95% CI: –27.9, –12.8; 8 − OHdG]), particularly among fetuses at the 25th percentile. Oxidative stress biomarkers of protein damage were associated with larger estimated fetal weight at 20 (3.4 [95% CI: 1.2, 5.7]) and 36 weeks (16.5 [95% CI: 5.2, 27.8]).

Conclusion

These findings advance our understanding of different oxidative stress pathways and their potential role in fetal growth.

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Fig. 1: Change in estimated fetal weight for each ln-unit increase in oxidative stress biomarker.
Fig. 2: Change in estimated fetal weight for each ln-unit increase in oxidative stress biomarker at the 25th and 75th percentile.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Institutes of Health / National Institute for the Environmental Health Sciences (K23ES035461: PI Duh-Leong) as well as the NIH Office of the Director (UG3/UH3OD023305). We would like to thank the NYU CHES staff and participants for their contributions to this project. During preparation of this manuscript, WC was supported by R00ES032029.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Carol Duh-Leong, Akhgar Ghassabian, Whitney Cowell, Sarvenaz Shahin, Kurunthachalam Kannan, Kristyn A. Pierce, Sara E. Long & Leonardo Trasande

  2. Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Akhgar Ghassabian, Whitney Cowell, Mengling Liu, Yuyan Wang, Wenqing Yang, Yelena Afanasyeva & Leonardo Trasande

  3. Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA

    Kurunthachalam Kannan

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Shilpi S. Mehta-Lee

  5. NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York, NY, USA

    Leonardo Trasande

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  1. Carol Duh-Leong
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Contributions

CDL was responsible for the conceptualization and design of the study, performed a portion of the statistical analysis, and prepared the original draft. LT contributed to conceptualization, provided resources and supervision, secured funding acquisition, and participated in writing (review and editing). AG contributed to the conceptualization, provided resources and supervision, secured funding acquisition, and participated in writing (review and editing). AG also contributed to the statistical analysis and data curation. WC contributed to the methodology, the statistical analysis, and participated in writing (review and editing). ML, SS, KAP, SEL, YW, and WY all contributed substantially to the statistical analysis, data curation, and refinement of the statistical methodology. YA assisted with data curation, provided resources, and contributed to project administration. SML provided clinical expertise, contributed resources, and participated in writing (review and editing). KK was responsible for the formal analysis related to chemicals/lab analysis, performed validation, provided resources, and participated in writing (review and editing). All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

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Correspondence to Carol Duh-Leong.

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Duh-Leong, C., Ghassabian, A., Cowell, W. et al. Oxidative stress and fetal weight: observational findings from a pregnancy cohort in New York City. J Perinatol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-025-02464-1

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