Abstracts from the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health 2022 Annual BIRCWH Meeting:Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health November 2, 2022

Abstract

Journal of Women's HealthVol. 31, No. 10 AbstractsFree AccessAbstracts from the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health 2022 Annual BIRCWH Meeting:Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health November 2, 2022Published Online:26 Oct 2022https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2022.29042.abstractsAboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH)Introduction to the Scientific Abstracts for the 2022 Annual BIRCWH MeetingLisa Begg, Dr.P.H., RN1The Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) Program is now in its twenty‐second year and has produced more than 730 highly qualified and successful junior investigators. The BIRCWH program was created by the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and several NIH institutes and centers in 2000. The program continues to utilize an institutional mentored research and career development grant program that has increased the number and skills of junior faculty called Scholars, who recently completed clinical training or postdoctoral fellowships.The BIRCWH program supports the ORWH mission and advances its goal to promote the independent scientific careers for a diverse, and robust workforce to advance science for the health of women, and where appropriate, the use of both sexes to better understand the influence of sex as a variable for health and disease.When the BIRCWH Program was originally created, most of the scientific abstracts focused on reproductive health research. Over the years, the abstract topics have greatly expanded across many areas of science. In terms of the 2022 BIRCWH abstracts, seven categories have been created so that the abstracts can be clustered during the virtual poster session on November 2, 2022. It should be noted that there is overlap between some abstract categories such as Sex and Gender Differences and Clinical Research. For example, one abstract focuses on sex differences in guideline‐consistent diagnostic testing of acute pulmonary embolism among adult emergency department patients; 1,173 adults were studied, 777 of which were females and 440 were males.From the number of abstracts contained in this Fall issue, the number in each category from highest to lowest include ten abstracts that have a Clinical research focus and ten abstracts with a Sex and Gender Differences focus, followed closely by Reproductive Health with eight abstracts. Basic research topics and Public Health topics are represented with seven abstracts each, followed by smaller groupings, four each, for Neuroscience and Health Disparities.Some of the topics for the 2022 BIRCWH abstracts have described complex research topics such as machine learning using electronic medical records to predict risk for probable depression in early pregnancy in people of color, and development of organ‐on‐chip to determine the effects of race/ethnicity and sex on intra‐amniotic infection leading to fetal brain inflammation. There have also been an increasing number of public health topics accepted for the 2022 Annual BIRCWH meeting, such as how air pollution affects the sex‐specific associations with cardio‐metabolic health, and the social determinants of health and premature death among women and men in the United States.Health disparity abstracts include such topics as racial disparities in incident stroke documented in the Women's Health Initiative: exploring biological, behavioral, psychosocial, and social risk factors. We invite the reader to review all the BIRCWH abstracts included in this issue which also include research across the lifespan in civilian populations as well as military and Veteran groups of women and men.The career development associated with these BIRCWH abstracts is built around three pillars: interdisciplinary research, mentoring, and career development. Interdisciplinary science teams work to advance fundamental understanding and solve problems that those from a single discipline cannot. The interdisciplinary research can be basic, translational, behavioral, clinical, and/or health‐services research relevant to the health of women. Most BIRCWH Scholars move on to obtain independent NIH grant funding following their participation in the BIRCWH Program.The interdisciplinary mentoring teams are essential to the BIRCWH Program, with a team‐based approach for mentoring BIRCWH Scholars. These teams include mentors from diverse disciplines to carry out interdisciplinary projects. Team members may include individuals from medical, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, veterinary medicine, biotechnology, social sciences, anthropology, genetics, public health, and other disciplines representing different perspectives and areas of expertise. These teams come together to collaborate as a unit, with the common goal of supporting a BIRCWH Scholar in the transition from trainee to independent researcher.The 2022 Annual BIRCWH meeting will be held virtually on November 2, 2022. There will be a plenary session in the morning, with two special talks ‐ the Ruth L. Kirschstein Memorial Lectureship, and the Legacy of Leadership lecture. There will also be three Podium talks for the top Scholar abstracts – these abstracts are listed first in the abstract file below. In the afternoon, there will be a virtual poster session with all of the abstracts. The published abstracts below will form the basis of the virtual poster session. More detailed information about the November 2, 2022 meeting and the BIRCWH program can be found on the ORWH website, www.nih.gov/womenDr. Begg is the Senior Research Program Officer in the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, overseeing the BIRCWH Program. For further information about the BIRCWH Program and the 2022 Annual BIRCWH Meeting, please contact Dr. Begg at, beggl@od.nih.gov2022 BIRCWH Podium AbstractsO‐1. Gender Differences in Care Networks of Older Adults with DementiaPhillip A. Cantu (presenting author),1 Tsai‐Chin Cho,2 Mary F. Wyman,3 Brooke Helppie‐McFall,4 Kristine J. Ajrouch4,51Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; 2University of Michigan School of Public Health; 3William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health; 4Survey Research Center, University of Michigan; 5Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology, Eastern Michigan UniversityBackground: Gender differences in care networks, the use of paid and informal caregivers, and the need for care among older adults with dementia remain unclear.Objective: To evaluate gender differences in care networks of community‐dwelling older adults with dementia in the United States.Methods: We used data from the 2018 wave of the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Survey, a nationally representative sample of older adults in the United States. We included individuals age 70 or older with dementia. We estimated the total annual care hours received from paid and unpaid informal caregivers. Paid care was categorized as formal institutional care, paid care from a family member or friend, or care paid by insurance. Informal care was categorized as care from a spouse, a child, or another source. We used ordinary least squares regression to predict gender differences in types of care, controlling for demographic characteristics, wealth, and level of disability.Results: Our sample was 61.3% women, with a mean age of 85.1. On average, women received 1,384 hours of care a year, compared with 1,015 hours for men, with a greater proportion of women's care coming from paid sources. Differences in hours of care from all sources except for spouses and children were explained by higher levels of disability for women.Conclusions: There were more women than men with dementia, and as a result, they had higher levels of disability. The greater cost of care for older women is reflected by more hours of formal and informal care.O‐2. Factors Associated with Postpartum Initiation of Antihypertensive Medications Following Hospital DischargeAlisse Hauspurg (presenting author),1,2 Kripa Venkatakrishnan,2 Latima Collins,2 Malamo Countouris,3 Beth Quinn,2 Lara Lemon,2 Hyagriv Simhan1,21Magee‐Womens Research Institute; 2Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Magee‐Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; 3Heart and Vascular Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of MedicineBackground: Hypertension is the most common reason for postpartum readmission and a major contributor to maternal morbidity.Objective: To identify risk factors and characterize outcomes among postpartum individuals with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) requiring initiation of antihypertensive medication post‐ discharge.Methods: We performed a cohort study of individuals with an HDP who delivered between September 2019 and June 2021 and enrolled in our remote blood pressure (BP) management program. We compared demographics and clinical outcomes among 3 groups: individuals who required no antihypertensive medication, those who were initiated on medication while inpatients, and those who were initiated on medication post‐discharge. We modeled odds of readmission and emergency room (ER) visits using logistic regression for those initiated on medication post‐discharge, with adjustments for age, race, body mass index, maternal length of stay, and delivery type.Results: Of 2,705 individuals, 1,458 (54%) required no antihypertensive medication postpartum, 637 (24%) were discharged on medication, and 610 (23%) required medication initiation post‐discharge. An inpatient threshold of ≥150/100 mmHg, in line with current guidelines for medication initiation postpartum, failed to identify 63% of individuals who ultimately required medication. These individuals had higher home BP and higher odds of an ER visit (aOR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.18–2.45) and hospital readmission postpartum (aOR, 3.31; 95% CI, 2.00–5.52) compared with individuals discharged on medication.Conclusions: Over 20% of individuals with an HDP required initiation of antihypertensive medication post‐discharge, yet current guidelines and clinical risk factors failed to identify the majority during the delivery hospitalization. These data indicate that remote monitoring plays a critical role and highlight the need for improved tools for risk stratification in this population.O‐3. Higher Risk of Cardiovascular Disease with Prediabetes and Undiagnosed Diabetes in Women Compared with MenYilin Yoshida (presenting author),1,5 Zhipeng Chen,2 Robin L. Baudier,4 Marie Krousel‐Wood,3–5 Amanda H. Anderson,4 Vivian A. Fonseca,1,6 Franck Mauvais‐Jarvis1,5,61Section of Endocrinology & Metabolism, John W. Deming Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine; 2Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine; 3Section of General Internal Medicine, John W. Deming Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine; 4Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine; 5Tulane Center of Excellence in Sex‐Based Biology & Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine; 6Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care SystemBackground: Women have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) related to diabetes mellitus (DM) than men. It is unclear whether the risk of CVD differs between sexes in prediabetes (preDM) and undiagnosed DM states.Objective: To examine the effect of preDM and undiagnosed DM on CVD in men and women.Methods: Individuals (n = 17,419) were pooled from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, the Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, and the Jackson Heart Study. We defined CVD as incident coronary heart disease or ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. Cox models examined the outcomes associated with preDM (fasting glucose [FG] 100–125 mg/dL or HbA1c 5.7–6.4% and FG and HbA1c in quartiles) and undiagnosed DM (FG ≥126 mg/dL or HbA1c ≥6.5% and without a DM diagnosis), adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, education, body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking status, antihypertensive and lipid‐lowering medication status, and cohort.Results: During follow‐up a median of 15 years later, preDM was associated with more than an 8% higher risk of CVD overall in women, but the risk was not significant in men. Notably, in women, compared with those with normoglycemia, having a slightly elevated FG level (preDM first quartile 100–103 mg/dL) or HbA1c level (preDM first quartile 5.7–5.8%) was associated with about a 10% higher risk of CVD. We also found a significant sex difference in CVD associated with undiagnosed DM, with a higher risk observed in women (33%) compared with men (14%).Conclusions: The increased risk of CVD in women versus men with preDM and undiagnosed DM may explain women's disadvantage in diabetic CVD risk. Cardiovascular risk screening, health education, and management should start from preDM in women.2022 BIRCWH Poster AbstractsBasic Research1. Proteomic Analysis of Urogynecologic Mesh Complications Suggests Importance of Fibrosis in PainAmanda Artsen (presenting author),1 Nathan Yates,2 Halina Zyczynski,1 Megan Bradley,1 Pamela A. Moalli11Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Magee‐Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; 2Biomedical Mass Spectrometry Center, University of PittsburghBackground: Mesh exposure through the vaginal epithelium and pain are complications of urogynecologic mesh procedures, but the associated molecular events are poorly understood.Objective: To define proteomic profiles of vagina–mesh complexes of women with mesh exposure or pain compared with the profiles of controls.Methods: From our mesh biorepository, 10 well‐integrated, 10 exposure, and 10 pain mesh samples were compared with 10 age‐ and body mass index–matched control samples from vaginas without mesh using nanoscale liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometry. Peptides were selected for analysis if the probability value was less than 0.01 on analysis of variance and, to isolate proteins unique to complications rather than an expected foreign body response, the probability value was greater than 0.01 between well‐integrated mesh samples and control biopsies (MATLAB). Cluster analysis was performed using STRING (ELIXIR).Results: Of 30,588 peptide sequences from 2,803 protein groups, 75 passed selection criteria. Twenty were upregulated in both complication groups, with the exposure samples demonstrating the highest levels, primarily related to post‐translational processing and antioxidant activity. Six were downregulated in the exposure samples, with half related to cytoskeleton and cell motility. Protein S100A9, an antioxidant, was increased in both groups but highest in the exposure samples, and laminin subunit alpha 5, though downregulated in both groups, was lowest in the exposure samples. Fibronectin was highest in the pain samples (1.7 times the level of the exposure samples, P = 0.014).Conclusions: Many proteins were similarly regulated in women with complications, with the greatest deviation from normal in the exposure samples, suggesting a single trajectory for these phenotypes. High fibronectin corroborates pain as a fibrotic response, and downregulation of cytoskeletal proteins and integrins supports matrix degradation in exposure. Increased antioxidants in exposure most likely counteract macrophage‐derived reactive oxygen species.2. Ubiquitination of Zika Virus Envelope Protein Affects Gene Expression in the Placenta and Embryos of Infected Pregnant MiceMaria I. Giraldo (presenting author),1 Maria Gonzalez Orozco,1 Stephanea Sotcheff,3 Victoria Morris,3 Nathan Elrod,3 Andrew Routh,3 Scott C. Weaver,1,2 Pei‐Yong Shi,2,3 Ricardo Rajsbaum1,2,41Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; 2Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; 3Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; 4Center for Virus‐Host‐Innate‐Immunity, Institute for Infectious & Inflammatory Diseases, and Department of Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical SchoolBackground: The envelope (E) protein of Zika virus (ZIKV) is an important protein for viral replication because it mediates attachment to host cell receptors and promotes viral fusion to host endosome membranes. These processes are both vital for virus internalization. We recently reported that ZIKV E is ubiquitinated at 2 lysine residues, K38 and K281, and that ubiquitination of E on K38 is important for virus attachment to host cells. However, the exact role of ubiquitination of E on K281 remains unclear.Objectives: To determine how ubiquitination of ZIKV E affects gene expression in the placenta and brain tissues of embryos from infected pregnant mice and to identify target cells via single‐cell sequencing.Methods: Pregnant mice were infected with ZIKV E‐WT, E‐K281R mutant virus, or mock control at embryonic day 10.5. At embryonic day 18.5, the mothers were euthanized to recover placentas and embryos. Viral load was determined in tissues by plaque assay and via polymerase chain reaction quantification of RNA. Next‐generation sequencing and single‐cell RNA sequencing were utilized to identify differences in the global gene expression profiles of placentas and embryos of infected pregnant mice from each group.Results: We identify differences in expression levels of genes associated with placenta and brain development and microcephaly among embryos infected with ZIKV E‐WT, embryos infected with E‐K281R mutant virus, and embryos infected with mock control.Conclusion: These data provide information on the specific cell types in the placenta and the embryo's brain that are infected and the specific identification of genes whose expression may be altered in infected versus noninfected cells.3. Gender Transition as a Model to Elucidate the Effects of Sex Hormones and Sex Chromosomes on Gene Expression at the Single‐Cell LevelRebecca M. Harris (presenting author),1–3 Troy Whitfield,2 Linyong Mao,2 Helen Skaletsky,2 Yee‐Ming Chan,3 David C. Page21Harvard Medical School; 2Whitehead Institute; 3Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's HospitalBackground: Sex hormones (estradiol and testosterone) and sex chromosomes (X and Y) are implicated as the bases for sex differences in healthy traits and diseases. Sex hormones and chromosomes exert their effects through alterations in gene expression; however, their independent and interdependent contributions in humans are unknown. Additionally, the effects of gender‐affirming hormones (estradiol in XY individuals and testosterone in XX individuals) on gene expression are unknown.Objective: To determine the contributions of sex hormones and chromosomes to gene expression in humans using gender transition as a model.Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 70 subjects (n = 21 transgender males on testosterone, n = 14 transgender females on estradiol, n = 15 cisgender males, and n = 20 cisgender females) were isolated and sequenced using 10x Genomics 3′ single‐cell RNA sequencing. Quality was assessed based on numbers of expressed genes, unique molecular identifiers, percentage of mitochondrial gene expression, and doublet scores. Cell clusters were identified via dimensionality reduction using UMAP, and cell types were assigned using Azimuth.Results: A total of 19,443 genes from 312,007 cells were sequenced. Twenty‐eight unique cell types were identified, including monocytes, dendritic cells, B cells, NK cells, MAIT cells, CD4 T cells, and CD8 T cells, as well as additional subtypes. Differential gene expression is ongoing and will be completed using pseudobulk (DESeq2) and mixed‐effects (MAST) models.Conclusions: A translational approach of recruiting transgender and cisgender individuals and isolating and sequencing individual PBMCs will allow us to determine the independent and interdependent contributions of sex hormones and chromosomes to gene expression in humans at the single‐cell level.4. Impact of Tension on Myofibroblast Response to Deformed Mesh: An In Vivo AnalysisKatrina M. Knight (presenting author),1,2 Gabrielle E. King,2 Stacy L. Palcsey,2 Pamela A. Moalli1–31Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh; 2Magee‐Womens Research Institute; 3Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Magee‐Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh School of MedicineBackground: Urogynecologic meshes deform after implantation, leading to complications that include mesh encapsulation with fibrosis, a myofibroblast‐mediated response. We hypothesized that tension applied to the mesh at implantation drives the fibroblast‐to‐myofibroblast transition.Objective: To define the impact of tension on the myofibroblast response.Methods: Deformed mesh was implanted onto the vaginas of rhesus macaques in the presence (T) and absence of tension (NT) (n = 10 per group, IACUC 16088646). Sham animals served as controls (n = 8). After 12 weeks, mesh–vagina complexes were excised and analyzed. One‐way analysis of variance and Kruskal–Wallis tests with post hoc testing or independent t‐tests and Mann–Whitney U tests, when appropriate, were used to compare fiber area, myofibroblast quantity, TGF‐ββ1, collagenase activity, and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content among the groups.Results: Fiber area within the NT adventitia was 2 times greater than the fiber area in the T group (P = 0.012). There were 5 times as many myofibroblasts per fiber in the T group than in the NT group (P = 0.006). The ratio of active to latent TGF‐ββ1, a profibrotic cytokine, was 2 times higher for T than it was for NT, consistent with the observed increase in myofibroblasts (P = 0.001). GAG, a sign of tissue injury, and collagenase activity were significantly higher for the NT group than they were for the sham and T groups.Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that tension increases myofibroblast formation, resulting in less collagenase activity and GAG formation, most likely mediated by increased TGF‐ββ1. The presence of tension and not increased mesh fiber area induced this myofibroblast response. Research into the role that local stress variations play in pathological fibroblast responses is ongoing.5. Sex‐Specific Hypothalamic‐Mediated Adiposity in an Animal Model of Maternal–Offspring ObesityMegan Paulsen (presenting author),1 Debra Kulhanek,1 Lauren Buckley11Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical SchoolBackground: There is an established relationship between maternal obesity and offspring obesity. Female offspring demonstrate higher sensitivity to stress‐induced hypothalamic programming compared with male offspring. Sex‐specific hypothalamic mechanisms contributing to programming of adiposity in offspring are poorly characterized.Objective: To describe sex differences in hypothalamic‐mediated adiposity in adult C57Bl/6 mice offspring exposed to maternal obesity.Methods: Female C57Bl/6 mice (n = 16) were fed a control (CON) diet and a high‐fat, high‐sugar (OB) diet. Offspring (n = 31, 48% female) were challenged with an OB diet. In vivo body composition was measured by quantitative magnetic resonance imaging. Energy intake, energy expenditure, and activity were assessed using metabolic chambers. Plasma lipid and hormone concentrations were measured by ELISA. The hypothalamic transcriptome was measured by RNA sequencing in Galaxy. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed in Ingenuity pathway analysis. The effect of sex was determined by two‐way analysis of variance. An unpaired Student's t‐test measured differences between groups for each sex. Strength of relationships was assessed by Pearson's correlation coefficient; P < 0.05 was significant.Results: OB offspring had higher fat mass (+31%, P < 0.001), lower fat‐free mass (‐4%, P < 0.002), higher plasma leptin (+40%, P = 0.03), and higher plasma insulin (+40%, P = 0.07) levels than CON offspring. There were no differences in energy intake or basal metabolic rate between groups for either sex or between sexes. OB‐F had 32% lower activity than CON‐F (P = 0.04). There were no differences in activity between male offspring groups. About 9% of genes (38/417) associated with quantity of adipose tissue were differentially expressed in OB offspring's (versus CON) hypothalami. Twenty‐two genes were expressed in OB‐F but not OB‐M. Sixty‐seven percent of DEGs in OB‐F were upregulated versus CON‐F. APOB (+215.2‐fold), FABP2 (+131.1‐fold), APOA4 (+28.3‐fold), and TNF (+18.9‐fold) were genes with more than a tenfold differential expression in OB‐F (versus CON‐F, P < 0.0001). Fourteen genes were expressed in OB‐M but not OB‐F. Nineteen percent of DEGs were upregulated in OB‐M versus CON‐M. There were no genes in OB‐M with greater than a tenfold differential expression compared with CON‐M. Hypothalamic IGFBP2 was lower in OB‐F (‐2.95‐fold) and OB‐M (‐1.81‐fold) compared with CON. There was an interaction between maternal diet and offspring sex in the expression of LCN2 (M: ‐3.45‐fold, F: +2.95‐fold; P < 0.001). Maternal weight at conception (r = +0.45, P = 0.01) and cholesterol level (r = +0.54, P = 0.02) were directly correlated to fat mass in adult offspring.Conclusion: While adult offspring exposed to maternal obesity share a common metabolic phenotype, hypothalamic mechanisms that may explain this relationship are sex‐specific.6. Sex Differences in Interferon Gamma Release in Response to Tuberculosis InfectionJerry S. Zifodya (presenting author),1 Jay Kolls11Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of MedicineBackground: One‐quarter of the world's population has latent tuberculosis (TB) infection, which serves as a reservoir for active TB disease. Men are 1.7 times more likely to develop active TB than women, possibly because of greater interferon gamma (IFN‐γ) release and immune response in women infected with TB.Objective: To determine whether women have higher IFN‐γ release.Methods: This was a cross‐sectional analysis of a cohort of Kenyan adults (age >30) with well‐controlled HIV and sex‐matched HIV‐negative adults in Kisumu, Kenya. Participants underwent QuantiFERON‐TB Gold Plus testing. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to compare IFN‐γ release in men versus women, adjusting for age, HIV status, and prior TB.Results: Of the 398 participants, 51% were women and 56% were HIV‐positive. On average, the women were younger than the men (44 versus 49, P < 0.001). Median TB1 and TB2 responses were similar in women and men (TB1: 0.54 IU/mL in women versus 0.34 IU/mL in men [P = 0.16], TB2: 0.61 IU/mL in women versus 0.32 IU/mL in men [P = 0.18]). In multivariable models, female sex was not associated with TB1 IFN‐γ release (β = 0.21; 95% CI, ‐0.36 to 0.78) or with TB2 IFN‐γ release (β = 0.21; 95% CI, ‐0.37 to 0.78). Older age and HIV infection were associated with lower INF‐γ release. In analyses limited to people living with HIV, female sex was not associated with TB1 IFN‐γ release (β = 0.88; 95% CI, ‐0.64 to 2.4) or with TB2 IFN‐γ release (β = 0.62; 95% CI, ‐1.1 to 2.3).Conclusions: We did not find a sex difference in IFN‐γ release in this cohort of Kenyan adults with and without HIV.7. Sex Differences in Aging‐Related Myocardial Stiffening Assessed Noninvasively with Magnetic Resonance ElastographyArvin Arani (presenting author),1 Matthew C. Murphy,1 Huzefa Bhopalwala,1 Shivaram P. Arunachalam,1 Phillip J. Rossman,1 Joshua D. Trzasko,1 Kevin Glaser,1 Yi Sui,1 Tina Gunderson,2 Adelaide M. Arruda‐Olson,3 Armando Manduca,1 Kejal Kantarci,1 Richard L. Ehman,1 Philip A. Araoz11Department of Radiology; Mayo Clinic; Rochester, Minnesota; 2Department of Quantitative Health Sciences; Mayo Clinic; Rochester, Minnesota; 3Department of Cardiology; Mayo Clinic; Rochester, MinnesotaBackground: Heart failure hospitalization rates disproportionately increase in women as they age, even when they present with normal (>50%) left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF). We hypothesize that changes in myocardial stiffness are a major contributor to this trend, because increased stiffness can impair cardiac function. Current clinical quantitative stiffness measurements are invasive, hampering their use in routine clinical practice.Objective: To investigate the feasibility of using quantitative magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) to characterize the influence of aging and sex on left ventricle (LV) stiffness.Methods: LV systolic myocardial shear stiffness was measured in 109 healthy (ages 18–84) volunteers (57 females) using MRE. The 5‐minute MRE acquisition was included in a routine clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination protocol. Linear regression models were used to estimate the association of cardiac MRI/MRE characteristics with age and sex; models were also fit to assess potential age–sex interaction.Results: A significant increase in myocardial stiffness was observed with age in women (P = 0.009) but not in men. LVEF increased (P = 0.005) and LV end systolic volume (LVESV) decreased (P = 0.005) disproportionately in women. Conventional MRI parameters—including endogenous T1, circumferential strain, longitudinal strain, radial strain, and LV mass—did not demonstrate this interaction (P > 0.05). Stiffness measured with MRE was not found to be significantly correlated with LVEF, LVESV, body mass index, or any MRI strain metrics (P > 0.05).Conclusions: These data support the hypothesis that women (but not men) experience disproportionate elevation in LV stiffness as t