The launch of the US National Children’s Study was official yesterday when it awarded 22 contracts to new study centres, following the pledge by Congress earlier this year to fund the largest study ever conducted into the genetic and environmental factors that impact American children’s health.
Started in 2000 with 7 centres, the new contracts bring the study a step closer to to its ambitious goal, which is to follow 100,000 children representing the whole of America’s youth, from before birth until they are 21 years of ages.
Dr Duane Alexander, Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development said in a prepared statement that:
“Today’s announcement represents a milestone for the National Children’s Study.”
The 22 new study centres will oversee the recruitment of new participants and data collection in urban and rural areas in 20 states throughout the US. Some centres will oversee more than one location.
The centres were chosen because they showed they were able to collect and hold large quantities of data, respect rules regarding data protection and privacy, and recruit and retain eligible women and newborns through extensive community networks.
Director of the National Children’s Study, Dr Peter Scheidt said in a prepared statement that:
“We are thrilled with the quality of the award recipients and what their participation in the study will mean for child health.”
“With this large group of new study centers, we will be able to recruit expectant mothers from large parts of the country in rural, urban, small and large counties,” he added.
The purpose of the National Children’s Study is to better understand how genes and the environment interact to impact child and adult health.
It is hoped this will reveal a lot about the causes of problems arising in pregnancy, obesity, autism, asthma, mental health disorders, and many others.
Alexander explained to a press conference that the study will also help to understand the development of adult health problems:
“There is mounting evidence that the health habits and exposures of early childhood, perhaps starting before birth, affect the health and well-being of adults as well as children,” he said.
When the full plan is rolled out, the study will have between 25 and 40 centres covering 105 locations across the US, but it needs more funding to do this.
The 105 locations will comprise 79 metropolitan counties and 26 rural, non-metropolitan areas, as designated by the US Census Bureau. The metropolitan sites include some of the most densely populated counties of the US, as well as smaller urban and suburban communities.
Each location will enroll 250 newborns every year for 4 or 5 years.
Scheidt said another 110 million dollars of funding has been earmarked, and the study will be relying on Congress approving funds every year to keep it going.
The study locations were selected for a number of reasons, including geographic and demographic diversity, and other observed events such as the high number of low birthweight babies.
The study centres will soon be hiring and training new staff, discovering the needs of target communities, and setting up community advisory boards so that participant recruitment can start in 2009.
The first seven centres were established in 2005, and the new money means they will be able to start recruiting participants next year.
The National Children’s Study is led by a consortium comprising the US Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Click here for the National Children’s Study website.
Written by: Catharine Paddock