Andrea L Deierlein

Associate Professor of Public Health Nutrition

Professional overview

Dr. Andrea Deierlein’s research focuses on examining how dietary, behavioral, and
environmental factors contribute to reproductive health outcomes and chronic-disease
development throughout the lifespan.

Dr. Deierlein is trained as a nutritional epidemiologist. Much of her research has
examined predictors and outcomes of maternal metabolic health-related conditions during
pregnancy and the postpartum, specifically, excessive gestational weight gain,
hyperglycemia, and obesity. She contributed to a systematic evidence-based review
examining outcomes of weight gain during pregnancy at the Agency of Healthcare
Research and Quality. This review informed the development of the 2009 Institute of
Medicine Gestational Weight Gain Guidelines. Dr. Deierlein received the K99/R00
Pathway to Independence Award to expand her training to include the study of toxic
environmental chemicals and metals. She conducted research examining associations of
endocrine-disrupting toxicant exposures during childhood and changes in anthropometric
measurements through adolescence among girls. She also conducted a series of analyses
examining maternal prenatal exposures to phthalates with weight gain and biomarkers of
cardiometabolic health in women during pregnancy and throughout the postpartum.
Recently, Dr. Deierlein has expanded her research to include disability-related disparities
in nutrition and reproductive health.

Education

BS, Animal Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

MS, Health Nutrition, Columbia University, New York, NY

MPH, Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY

PhD, Nutrition Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC

Honors and awards

Travel Scholarship, Be Our Voice Childhood Obesity Prevention Advocacy Training, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2013)

New York Academy of Sciences Education Fellowship (2012)

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Pediatric Environmental Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (2010)

Travel Scholarship, Researching Women’s Environmental Health: Food, Nutrition, and Obesity, University of Rochester Medical Center (2010)

Travel Scholarship, Childhood Obesity Symposium, University of Southern California (2010)

Areas of research and study

Environmental Public Health Services

Epidemiology

Maternal and Child Health

Nutrition

Women's Health

Publications

Publications

Food Insecurity, Associated Health Behaviors, and Academic Performance Among Urban University Undergraduate Students

Personal Care and Household Cleaning Product Use among Pregnant Women and New Mothers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Prenatal maternal phthalate exposures and trajectories of childhood adiposity from four to twelve years

Prenatal phthalates, gestational weight gain, and long-term weight changes among Mexican women

Ultra-processed Foods and Cardiometabolic Health Outcomes: from Evidence to Practice

Dietary Quality and Sociodemographic and Health Behavior Characteristics Among Pregnant Women Participating in the New York University Children's Health and Environment Study

Maternal Phthalates Exposure and Blood Pressure during and after Pregnancy in the PROGRESS Study

Pregnancy-related outcomes among women with physical disabilities: A systematic review

Prenatal maternal phthalate exposures and child lipid and adipokine levels at age six: A study from the PROGRESS cohort of Mexico City

Prenatal urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites and behavioral problems in Mexican children: The Programming Research in Obesity, Growth Environment and Social Stress (PROGRESS) study

The associations of phthalate biomarkers during pregnancy with later glycemia and lipid profiles

Trends in food consumption by degree of processing and diet quality over 17 years: Results from the Framingham Offspring Study

Ultra-Processed Foods and Incident Cardiovascular Disease in the Framingham Offspring Study

Early-life dietary cadmium exposure and kidney function in 9-year-old children from the progress cohort

Exposures to phthalates and bisphenols in pregnancy and postpartum weight gain in a population-based longitudinal birth cohort

Food assistance programs and income are associated with the diet quality of grocery purchases for households consisting of women of reproductive age or young children

Litvak, J., Parekh, N., Juul, F., & Deierlein, A. (n.d.).

Publication year

2020

Journal title

Preventive Medicine

Volume

138

10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106149

Abstract

Abstract

Women's diet quality during reproductive years and children's diet quality during early life influence long term health. Few studies have evaluated the impact of food assistance programs and income on the diet quality of grocery purchases made by households consisting of women of reproductive age and young children. We used data from the Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey 2012–2013 (FoodAPS) to evaluate how household income, Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) participation, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation are related to the diet quality of grocery purchases made by households that include women of reproductive age or young children (n = 2436). The diet quality of household grocery purchases was assessed with the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) 2015. HEI-2015 total score (0−100) and component scores were evaluated according to household income (eligible for WIC: income-to-poverty ratio ≤ 185%; ineligible for WIC: income-to-poverty ratio > 185%) and WIC, SNAP, and WIC + SNAP participation. Median HEI-2015 total score was lowest among SNAP households and highest among income ineligible for WIC and WIC households (47.2 and 54.1, respectively). Compared to income ineligible for WIC households, WIC + SNAP and SNAP households had lower HEI-2015 whole fruit (β = −0.30, 95% CI: −0.59, −0.01 and β = −0.41, 95% CI: −0.63, −0.20, respectively) and total vegetable scores (β = −0.58, 95% CI: −0.83, −0.32 and β = −0.27, 95% CI: −0.45, −0.08, respectively). The diet quality of grocery purchases in this population varies according to household income and food assistance participation.

Health behaviours during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: Implications for obesity

Parekh, N., & Deierlein, A. L. (n.d.).

Publication year

2020

Journal title

Public Health Nutrition

Volume

23

Issue

17

Page(s)

3121-3125

10.1017/S1368980020003031

Abstract

Abstract

Objective: Obesity is a risk factor for severe complications and death from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Public health efforts to control the pandemic may alter health behaviors related to weight gain, inflammation, and poor cardiometabolic health, exacerbating the prevalence of obesity, poor immune health, and chronic diseases. Design: We reviewed how the pandemic adversely influences many of these behaviors, specifically physical activity, sedentary behaviors, sleep, and dietary intakes, and provided individual level strategies that may be used to mitigate them. Results: At the community level and higher, public health and health care professionals need to advocate for intervention strategies and policy changes that address these behaviors, such as increasing nutrition assistance programs and creating designated areas for recreation and active transportation, to reduce disparities among vulnerable populations. Conclusions: The long-lasting impact of the pandemic on health behaviors, and the possibility of a second COVID-19 wave, emphasize the need for creative and evolving, multi-level approaches to assist individuals in adapting their health behaviors to prevent both chronic and infectious diseases.

Patterns of weight change one year after delivery are associated with cardiometabolic risk factors at six years postpartum in Mexican women

Predictors of gestational weight gain in a low-income hispanic population: Sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, and psychosocial stressors

Prenatal dietary exposures and offspring body size from 6 months to 18 years: A systematic review

Litvak, J., Parekh, N., & Deierlein, A. (n.d.).

Publication year

2020

Journal title

Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology

Volume

34

Issue

2

Page(s)

171-189

10.1111/ppe.12629

Abstract

Abstract

Background: In utero dietary exposures may influence childhood obesity. Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between prenatal dietary exposures and offspring body size from 6 months to 18 years. Data sources: Articles were identified in PubMed and Web of Science (January 2010-March 2018) using the PRISMA guidelines. Additional studies were identified through a reference review of articles that met the inclusion criteria and related reviews. Study selection: Prospective cohort studies that assessed dietary patterns, foods, macronutrients, or beverages during healthy pregnancy and offspring body size. The extraction of articles was done using predefined data fields. Synthesis: One author extracted all information and evaluated bias with the NHLBI's Quality Assessment Tool. Results: A total of 851 research articles were evaluated. Twenty-one studies assessing dietary patterns, macronutrients, foods, and beverages met inclusion criteria. Consumption of a Mediterranean dietary pattern during pregnancy was associated with reduced body size, while refined carbohydrates were associated with offspring obesity. No association was observed between data-driven dietary patterns and offspring body size, as well as a pro-inflammatory diet pattern and offspring body size. Mixed and null findings were observed for the relationship between total carbohydrates, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, protein, sugar-sweetened beverages, and artificially sweetened beverages and offspring body size. Conclusions: Adhering to a Mediterranean diet and limiting refined carbohydrates during pregnancy may influence offspring body size between 6 months and 18 years. The diverging results that exist between studies highlight the complexity of this topic.

Prevalence of meats offered during meals at New York city schools

Total and trimester-specific gestational weight gain and infant anthropometric outcomes at birth and 6 months in low-income Hispanic families

Trends and Patterns of Phthalates and Phthalate Alternatives Exposure in Pregnant Women from Mexico City during 2007-2010

Correlates of Prenatal Diet Quality in Low-Income Hispanic Women

Development of a technology-assisted food frequency questionnaire for elementary and middle school children: Findings from a pilot study