A multi-centered prospective birth cohort study in Western China

Abstract

The Western China Birth Cohort (WCBC) is a large-scale, multi-centered, prospective birth cohort study designed to address critical gaps in maternal and child health research in Western China, a region with diverse altitudes, ethnic groups, and unique environmental exposures. WCBC had enrolled 15,093 pregnant women across eight clinical centers in five provinces (Qinghai, Gansu, Guizhou, Chongqing, and Sichuan), spanning from the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to lowland regions. WCBC has collected over 220,000 medical records, 80,000 questionnaires, and 12 different types of biological samples, including peripheral blood, cord blood, dried blood spots, placenta, umbilical cord, decidua, saliva, feces, throat and nasal swabs, vaginal swabs, and breast milk. By integrating advanced multi-omics measurement, including genomics, proteomics, exosome profiling, metabolomics, spatial transcriptomics, single-cell RNA sequencing, culturome, metagenomics, and virosome analysis, WCBC provides a valuable platform to explore gene-environment interplay, early-life determinants of health, and long-term disease risks in diverse populations in Western China.

Figure 1

Study design of the WCBC cohort. (A) Multi‐center recruitment and follow‐up visits. (B) Collection of medical records and questionnaires. (C) Multi‐omics measurement. DDST, Denver Developmental Screening Test; GDS, Gesell Developmental Schedules; UC, umbilical cord; WCBC, Western China Birth Cohort.

Figure 2

The baseline characteristics of participants. (A) Geographic distribution of participants across provinces. (B) Monthly enrollment of participants. (C) Distribution of altitudes for participants from different provinces. (D) A pie chart showing the proportions of Han and ethnic minority participants. (E) The top ten ethnic minority groups in WCBC. (F) Distribution of pregnant age of participants from different provinces. The dashed line represents the average age of pregnant women in each province. (G) Proportions of participants who reached each follow‐up visit. (H) Numbers of participants who completed each follow‐up visit. Number of biological samples (I), medical records (J), and questionnaires (K).