About this Research Topic
Accumulating evidence suggests that the pre- and periconception time periods are critical windows in which environmental exposures may influence gamete and embryo development in ways that affect fetal and child health. Preconception health and environmental exposures have also been associated with predictors of male and female fecundity (e.g., semen quality, polycystic ovarian syndrome) that, in turn, have been linked to long-term morbidity and mortality in men and women. Preconception studies, therefore, have the potential to contribute to our understanding of health across the life course as well as the intergenerational transmission of health.
The goal of this Research Topic is to highlight studies that demonstrate the current state of preconception research, including various exposures and outcomes of interest, study designs, and methods for statistical analysis. In addition to providing a forum for researchers to discuss the inherent trade-offs in preconception research, in particular the pros and cons of prospective vs. retrospective studies, this topic is intended to encourage creative thinking around ways to address the challenges of working in this field, including enrolling partners, determining critical windows of exposure, and capturing data during those critical windows from non-planners.
This Research Topic will focus on investigations into human preconception exposures, broadly defined, and outcomes of fecundity, pregnancy, child, and parental health. Studies that examine biological mechanisms underlying these associations, including gamete quality, genetic and epigenetic factors, and pathways illuminated by omics data, are also relevant. Exposures may include, but are not limited to, environmental chemicals and microbiota, psychosocial stressors, mental and physical health (including the COVID-19 pandemic), climate change, and the parents (or 'potential parents') own in utero or early life experiences.
In addition to results from prospective preconception studies, we welcome studies that have access to preconception data through other approaches, such as being nested within multigenerational cohorts, conducted in the context of assisted reproduction services, collected retrospectively from pregnancy/birth cohorts, or abstracted from medical records or publicly available sources.
In discussing their results, we encourage authors to address the methodological challenges of preconception studies, including ensuring temporality, identifying critical windows of exposure, and dealing with selection bias and generalizability. Authors should also consider racial, cultural, and socioeconomic disparities in preconception studies, considering how they may influence the results of specific analyses and the field in general.
The goal of this Research Topic is to highlight studies that demonstrate the current state of preconception research, including various exposures and outcomes of interest, study designs, and methods for statistical analysis. In addition to providing a forum for researchers to discuss the inherent trade-offs in preconception research, in particular the pros and cons of prospective vs. retrospective studies, this topic is intended to encourage creative thinking around ways to address the challenges of working in this field, including enrolling partners, determining critical windows of exposure, and capturing data during those critical windows from non-planners.
This Research Topic will focus on investigations into human preconception exposures, broadly defined, and outcomes of fecundity, pregnancy, child, and parental health. Studies that examine biological mechanisms underlying these associations, including gamete quality, genetic and epigenetic factors, and pathways illuminated by omics data, are also relevant. Exposures may include, but are not limited to, environmental chemicals and microbiota, psychosocial stressors, mental and physical health (including the COVID-19 pandemic), climate change, and the parents (or 'potential parents') own in utero or early life experiences.
In addition to results from prospective preconception studies, we welcome studies that have access to preconception data through other approaches, such as being nested within multigenerational cohorts, conducted in the context of assisted reproduction services, collected retrospectively from pregnancy/birth cohorts, or abstracted from medical records or publicly available sources.
In discussing their results, we encourage authors to address the methodological challenges of preconception studies, including ensuring temporality, identifying critical windows of exposure, and dealing with selection bias and generalizability. Authors should also consider racial, cultural, and socioeconomic disparities in preconception studies, considering how they may influence the results of specific analyses and the field in general.
Keywords: study design, epidemiology, in vitro fertilization, gametes, lifestyle, obesity, ethnicity, early life, stress, environmental chemicals, exposome, preconception, fertility, fecundability, epigenetics
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
