# EPIDEMIOLOGY OF TRISOMY AND AGING

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC · 1993 · $284,734

## Abstract

The long-term goal is to elucidate the processes leading to trisomy.
Trisomy is the most frequent chromosomal aberration among births and
clinically recognized spontaneous abortions and gives rise (as trisomy
21) to the most prevalent form of severe or moderate mental retardation.
Advancing chronologic maternal age is the primary risk factor for
trisomy.  The proposed project tests whether trisomy arises as a function
of the size of the oocyte pool and, in particular, the hypothesis that
risk at given chronologic ages is increased in women with accelerated
rates of oocyte atresia and hence smaller oocyte pools.  Since atresia
rate is a determinant of age at menopause, this hypothesis leads to the
prediction that menopause occurs earlier among women with trisomic
pregnancies than women with chromosomally normal pregnancies at the same
chronologic age.

The study draws on private patients who enrolled in a previous study over
the period 1974-1986.  The sample includes women with spontaneous
abortions of known karyotype and a control group of women with deliveries
at 28 weeks or later.  Women who are 45 years or older who had trisomic
spontaneous abortions (n=149), chromosomally normal spontaneous abortions
(n=210), or chromosomally normal live births (n=261) will be located and
interviewed about menstrual function and other factors.  The roughly two-
thirds (n=397) who will not yet have reached menopause will be followed
at six-month intervals over 48 months.  The specific aims are:

1. To test whether age at menopause is earlier among women with prior
trisomic spontaneous abortions than among women with chromosomally normal
spontaneous abortions or with chromosomally normal live births,
controlling both by design and analysis for chronologic age at study
pregnancy and follow-up.

2. To take advantage of menstrual data collected during follow-up to
explore whether onset of menstrual cycle irregularity, an indicator
related both to size of the oocyte pool and to hormonal changes, is
earlier among women with prior trisomic spontaneous abortions than among
women with chromosomally normal spontaneous abortions or live births.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3122201
- **Project number:** 1R01AG010251-01A2
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC
- **SAM.gov UEI:** TYVNMW8FNQQ3
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennie Katherine Kline
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $284,734
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 1993-01-01 → 1997-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3122201

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3122201, EPIDEMIOLOGY OF TRISOMY AND AGING (1R01AG010251-01A2). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3122201. Licensed CC0.

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