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Janet M. Catov, PhD, MS

Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and the Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh

Heart disease is the leading killer of women, and it manifests differently in women compared to men. We are interested in what pregnancy can teach us about heart disease in women, and how to take that information and improve pregnancy health and women’s long term health.
Janet M. Catov, PhD, MS

Research in Brief

The Catov research group utilizes large perinatal registries and cohort studies to evaluate the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and preterm birth, as well as the postpartum characteristics of women who delivered preterm infants. Dr Catov’s epidemiological studies examine relationship between preterm birth and later life maternal cardiovascular disease risk, emphasizing lipid metabolism, inflammation, and thrombosis.

Dr Catov’s research has employed several strategies to study the relationship between preterm birth and later-life maternal cardiovascular disease risk, collecting evidence suggesting that this relationship has roots in lipid metabolism, inflammation, and thrombosis. Dr. Catov also studies how other factors, such as nutrition and psychosocial behavior, may influence pregnancy and later-life maternal health.

Dr Catov oversees The Magee Obstetric Maternal and Infant Database (MOMI). MOMI is an electronic database comprised of all deliveries at Magee-Womens Hospital. At present, MOMI contains over 300 variables for approximately 190,000 deliveries from January 1, 1995 to the present time. The current list of variables comes from admitting services, ICD-9 codes, medical record data abstraction, the Pennsylvania state electronic birth record, and the Magee NICU database. It is populated in real time and includes data from medical records coding (procedure & diagnosis codes), medical records abstractor, ultrasound and other ancillary systems. The export interface allows rapid updates of all MOMI data contained in the hospital’s central data repository. Data administrators then review, clean, code, and store these data. MOMI staff members perform validation studies to assess the accuracy and completeness of the data. Frequencies for all variables are reviewed for illogical or outlying values and codes not allocated. Improbable values are investigated by obtaining the medical record and verifying the data point. The MOMI database is maintained by a dedicated data administrator who designs, codes, tests and supports all MOMI updates and research requests.

  • Rich-Edwards JW, Fraser A, Lawlor DA, Catov JM. Pregnancy characteristics and women’s future cardiovascular health: an underused opportunity to improve women’s health? Epidemiol Rev. 2014; 36(1):57-70. [Epub ahead of print] 2013 Sep. 11. PMID: 24025350. PMCID: PMC3873841.
  • Parks WT, Catov JM. The placenta as a window to maternal vascular health. Obstet. Gynecol Clin North Am. 2020 Mar;47(1):17-28.
  • Sutton E, Rogan SC, Lopa S, Sharbaugh D, Muldoon Matthew F, Catov JM. Early pregnancy blood pressure classification by the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association blood pressure guidelines is associated with increased risk for maternal and neonatal morbidity. 2019 Obstet Gynecol, in press
  • Ying Wendy, Catov JM, Ouyang P. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and future maternal cardiovascular risk. J Am Heart Assoc. 2018 Sep 4;7(17):e009382 Doi: 10.1161/JAHA.118.009382. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 30371154. PMCID: PMC6201430.
  • Catov JM, Newman AB, Kelsey SF, Roberts JM, Sutton-Tyrrell KC, Garcia M, Ayonayon HN, Tylavsky F, Ness, RB. Accuracy and reliability of maternal recall of infant birth weight among older women. Annals of Epidemiology 2006 Jun; 16(6): 429-431. PMID:
    16280248.
  • Catov JM, Ness RB, Kip KE, Olsen J. Risk of early or severe preeclampsia related to preexisting conditions. International Journal of Epidemiology, 2007 Apr;(2)36:412-419. PMID: 17255351.
  • Catov JM, Newman AB, Roberts JM, Kelsey SF, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Harris TB, Colbert LH, Rubin SM, Satterfield S, Ness RB. Health ABC Study: Preterm delivery and later maternal cardiovascular disease risk. Epidemiology, 2007; 18(6):733-739. PMID: 17917602.
  • Catov JM, Bodnar LM, Ness RB, Barron SJ, Roberts JM. Inflammation and dyslipidemia related to risk of spontaneous preterm birth. American Journal of Epidemiology, 2007;166(11):1312-1319. PMID: 17906337.
  • Catov JM, Patrick T, Powers R, Ness RB, Harger G, Roberts JM. Maternal leptin across pregnancy in women with small for gestational age infants. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2007, Jun;196(6):558. PMID: 17547894.
  • Catov JM, Nohr EA, Olsen J, Soerrensen T, Ness RB. Chronic hypertension related to risk for preterm and term small for gestational age births. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2008 112(2 Pt 1):290-6. PMID: 18669725.
  • Catov JM, Nohr EA, Bodnar LM, Knudsen VK, Olsen SJ, Olsen J. Association of periconceptional multivitamin use with reduced risk of preeclampsia among normal weight women in the Danish National Birth Cohort. Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Jun 1;169(11):1304-11. Epub 2009 Apr 16. PMID: 19372217.
  • Catov JM, Wu CS, Olsen J, Tyrrell KS, Li J, Nohr EA. Early or recurrent preterm birth and maternal cardiovascular disease risk. Ann Epidemiol. 2010 Aug;20(8):604-609. PMID: 20609340.
  • Catov JM, Ness RB, Wellons MF, Jacobs DR, Roberts JM, Gunderson EP. Prepregnancy lipids related to preterm birth risk: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Aug;95(8):3711-8. Epub 2010 May 25. PMID: 20501685.
  • Catov JM, Abatemarco DJ, Markovic N, Roberts JM. Anxiety and optimism associated with gestational age at birth and fetal growth. Matern Child Health J. 2010 Sep;14(5):758-64. PMID: 19697113.
  • McClure CK, Bodnar LM, Ness RB, Catov JM. Accuracy of Maternal Recall of Gestational Weight Gain 4 to 12 Years after Delivery. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 May;19(5):1047-53. PMID: 21164507.
  • Catov, JM, Dodge R, Yamal JM, Roberts, JM, Piller LB, Ness, RB. Prior preterm or small gestational age birth related to maternal metabolic syndrome. Obstet Gynecol. 2011 Feb;117(2 Pt 1):225-32. PMID:21252733.
  • Catov JM, Lewis CE, Lee M, Wellons MF, Gunderson EP. Preterm birth and future maternal blood pressure, inflammation and intimal medial thickness: CARDIA study. Hypertension. 2013 Mar;61(3):641-6. PMID:23319540.
  • Catov JM, Dodge R, Barinas-Mitchell E, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Yamal JM, Piller LB, Ness RB. Prior preterm birth and maternal subclinical cardiovascular disease 4 to 12 years after pregnancy. J Womens Health. 2013 Oct;22(10):835-43. PMID: 24033091.
  • Catov Janet M, Bertolet Marnie, Chen Yi-Fan, Evans Rhobert, Hubel Carl. Nonesterified fatty acids and spontaneous preterm birth: factor analysis to identify patterns of risk. Am J Epidemiol. 2014 May 15;179(10):1208-1215. PMID: 24714724.
  • Xu J, Barinas-Mitchell E, Kuller LH, Youk AO., Catov JM. Maternal hypertension after a low-birth weight delivery differs by race/ethnicity: evidence from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2006”. PLoS One. 2014 Aug 5;9(8):e104149. PMID: 25093324.
  • Rich-Edwards JW, Fraser A, Lawlor DA, Catov JM. Pregnancy characteristics and women’s future cardiovascular health: an underused opportunity to improve women’s health? Epidemiol Rev. 2014; 36(1):57-70. PMID: 24025350.
  • Catov Janet, Peng Ye, Scifres Christina M., Parks W. Tony. Placental pathology measures: can they be rapidly and reliably integrated into large-scale perinatal studies? Placenta 2015 Jun;36(6):687-92. PMID: 25798785.
  • Catov J, Abatemarco D, Althouse A, Davis E, Hubel C. Patterns of gestational weight gain related to fetal growth among women with overweight and obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2015 May;23(5):1071-8. PMID: 25865858.
  • Catov JM, Lee MJ, Roberts JM, Xu J, Simhan HN. Race disparities and decreasing birth weight: are all babies getting smaller? Am J Epidemiol. 2016 Jan 1;183(1):15-23. PMID: 26667251.

For additional publications, please visit Pubmed.

Baiyang Sun, MPH Data Analyst
Kristen Kamp, MPH Research Coordinator
Maria Wolfe, BS Research Coordinator
Danielle Sharbaugh, MPH Database Specialist
Samantha Bryan, MPH Data Manager
Cassandra Berkey, BSN Sr. Clinical Research Assistant
Christina Hayduchok, MS Clinical Research Assistant
Tess Capo, RMA Medical Records Abstractor
Allena Middlebrook, BS Clinical Research Assistant
Molly Hess, BS Clinical Research Assistant
Alex Layden, PhD
Gabby Snyder, PhD

Jan 12, 2021
Partnership brings heart health research where it’s needed: the community

Nov 11, 2020
From Preeclampsia to Premature Birth, New Mom’s Experience is a Roller Coaster

Jun 15, 2020
Sidebar: What can blood pressure teach us about women’s No. 1 killer?

May 21, 2020
Dr. Janet Catov: The MOMI Database - Better information leads to better intervention, healthier women, and healthier families

Dec 18, 2018
Dr. Janet Catov quoted in story on link between breast feeding and waist size

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