Janet M. Catov, PhD, MS is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine & CTSI and an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Dr. Catov has extensive training and experience in designing and conducting epidemiologic studies of large, population-based and clinical cohorts to understand determinants and consequences of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Her research is in the forefront of identifying common predisposing factors to adverse pregnancy outcomes, preterm birth and later-life maternal cardiovascular disease (CVD). She has collected evidence over the past decade to suggest that this relationship has roots in pre-clinical vascular disease, lipid metabolism, and inflammation, with a particular focus on the effects of obesity in pregnancy. Her current research is focused on incorporating placental features into studies of pregnancy and later-life maternal sequelae. She leads a project in the American Heart Association Go Red for Women Strategically Focused Research Network at the Magee-Womens Research Institute. Her team has enrolled more than 5,000 women in studies during and after pregnancy to understand women’s health across the lifespan. She has over 120 published papers and has worked with large cohorts of women in the U.S., Denmark, and the United Kingdom. She is also spearheading efforts to disseminate research findings about pregnancy health and women’s heart health in the community. Dr. Catov also oversees the Magee Obstetric Maternal and Infant Database (MOMI), a perinatal registry of maternal, fetal, and infant variables assembled from over 200,000 births at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital since 1995. She guided the launch of a biobank tissue collection protocol linked to MOMI in 2016.
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.