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. 2024 Oct 11;194(7):1984-1998.
doi: 10.1093/aje/kwae397. Online ahead of print.

From Fetus to Eight: the CHILD Cohort Study

Kozeta Miliku  1   2 , Myrtha E Reyna  3   4 , Maria Medeleanu  3   5 , Ruixue Dai  3 , Aimee Dubeau  2 , Diana L Lefebvre  2 , Kim Wright  2 , Bassel Dawod  2 , Marshall Beck  2 , Elissa Brooks  2 , Michael Kobor  6 , Qingling Duan  7 , Jeffrey R Brook  4 , Wendy Lou  4 , Fiona S L Brinkman  8 , Geoffrey L Winsor  8 , Justin Cook  8 , Allan B Becker  9 , Elinor Simons  9 , Piushkumar J Mandhane  10 , Theo J Moraes  3 , Meghan B Azad  9 , Malcolm R Sears  2 , Stuart E Turvey  11 , Padmaja Subbarao  2   3   4   5 ; CHILD Study Investigators
Collaborators, Affiliations

From Fetus to Eight: the CHILD Cohort Study

Kozeta Miliku et al. Am J Epidemiol. .

Abstract

The CHILD Cohort Study is an active multi-center longitudinal, prospective, population pregnancy cohort study following Canadian infants from fetal life until adulthood. We hypothesized that early life physical and psychosocial environments interact with biological factors (e.g. immunologic, genetic, physiologic, and metabolic) influencing burdensome non-communicable disease outcomes, including asthma and allergic disorders, growth and development, cardio-metabolic health, and neurodevelopmental outcomes that manifest during the life-course. Detailed clinical and physiologic phenotyping at strategic intervals was complemented by environmental sampling, actigraphy and global positioning system measures, biological sampling including gut, breastmilk and nasal microbiome, nutritional studies, genetics, and epigenetic profiling. Of 3,454 families recruited from 2008 to 2012, study retention was 96.0% at 1-year, 93.2% at 5-years and 90.7% at 8-years. Data collection during the SARS-2 COVID-19 pandemic was partially completed via virtual visits. A sub-cohort was implemented, capturing detailed information on the prevalence and predictors of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the health and psychosocial impact of the pandemic on Canadian families. The 13-year clinical assessment launched in 2022 will be completed in 2025. Ultimately, the CHILD Cohort Study provides a data science platform designed to enable a deep understanding of early life factors associated with the development of chronic non-communicable diseases and multimorbidity.

Keywords: CHILD cohort study; allergies; asthma; cardiovascular health; data science platform; environment; genes; growth trajectories; longitudinal prospective population-based study; mental health; microbiome; normative cohort; obesity; pediatrics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest related to the study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CHILD Cohort Study wheel.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CHILD Cohort Study consort diagram, retention from enrollment to 13-years visit. *Exclusion criteria: nonsingleton pregnancy, prematurity (<34 weeks plus 4 days), respiratory distress syndrome, congenital abnormalities, and in vitro fertilization involving ex-utero manipulation of the ovum, or children anticipated to spend less than 80% of their time in the primary home.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Prevalence of obesity and distribution of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the CHILD Cohort Study at 5 and 8 years. BMI categories determined using World Health Organization cutoffs for children <5 years and ≥5-19 years of age. Z scores were age and sex adjusted based on World Health Organization reference equations.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Prevalence of asthma and atopic sensitization, and distribution of spirometry z scores in the CHILD Cohort Study at 5 and 8 years. Spirometry z scores were determined using global lung initiative (GLI) reference equations.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Distribution of child behavioral checklist (CBCL) T-scores at 5 and 8 years (bottom) in the CHILD Cohort Study.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Participant retention strategies in the CHILD Cohort Study. Abbreviation: KMb, knowledge mobilization.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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