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An Inventory of European Birth Cohorts

Author

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  • Claudia Pansieri

    (Department of Public Health, Laboratory for Mother and Child Health, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy)

  • Chiara Pandolfini

    (Department of Public Health, Laboratory for Mother and Child Health, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy)

  • Antonio Clavenna

    (Department of Public Health, Laboratory for Mother and Child Health, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy)

  • Imti Choonara

    (Academic Division of Child Health, University of Nottingham School of Medicine, Derby DE22 3DT, UK)

  • Maurizio Bonati

    (Department of Public Health, Laboratory for Mother and Child Health, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy)

Abstract

Many birth cohorts have been carried out. We performed a review of European birth cohorts to see the countries involved, provide a panorama of the current research topics and design, and, more generally, provide input for those creating collaborations and laying out guidelines aimed at unifying cohort methodologies to enable data merging and maximize knowledge acquisition. We searched PubMed and Embase for articles referring to longitudinal, prospective European birth cohorts and searched online cohort inventories. We found references to 111 birth cohorts, 45 of which began enrolment at birth. These cohorts began between 1921 and 2015 and represented 19 countries, with varying sample sizes (236 to 21,000 children). As of 5 January 2020, were still recruiting. The main areas addressed were allergic diseases (14 cohorts) and environmental exposure (f12 cohorts) and most cohorts were publicly funded. Given the large costs of running cohorts and the importance of long follow-up periods in identifying the risk factors for disorders thought to have a perinatal/early life etiology, current cohorts must be designed to answer research questions considering several aspects, from genetic ones to psychological, social, and environmental ones. Furthermore, universally recognized methodological aspects are needed to permit the comparison and merging of cohort data.

Suggested Citation

  • Claudia Pansieri & Chiara Pandolfini & Antonio Clavenna & Imti Choonara & Maurizio Bonati, 2020. "An Inventory of European Birth Cohorts," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-17, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:9:p:3071-:d:351567
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rachel Cernansky, 2017. "US child-health study rises from ashes of high-profile failure," Nature, Nature, vol. 542(7640), pages 149-149, February.
    2. Helen Pearson, 2015. "Massive UK baby study cancelled," Nature, Nature, vol. 526(7575), pages 620-621, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chiara Pandolfini & Cristian Ricci & Linda Precious Siziba & Sebastian Huhn & Jon Genuneit & Maurizio Bonati, 2021. "Intrauterine Exposures and Maternal Health Status during Pregnancy in Relation to Later Child Health: A Review of Pregnancy Cohort Studies in Europe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-16, July.

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