An Examination of the Effects of FADS Indel Genotype on Stress Reactivity in Black Pregnant Women

Objectives: Black American women living in urban low-resourced areas are exposed to high levels of stress that impact their health throughout the lifespan, including during pregnancy. Fatty acid status is associated with improved stress regulation during pregnancy for Black women (Keenan et al., 2016). Genes associated with fatty acid metabolism may be important for understanding individual differences in stress physiology and stress related health problems in this population of women. The FADS Indel is a 22-base pair I(nsertion)-D(eletion) (Indel) polymorphism that controls FADS1 expression (Brenna & Kothapalli, 2022).