In: Ecotoxicology and environmental safety: EES ; official journal of the International Society of Ecotoxicology and Environmental safety, Band 71, Heft 1, S. 260-266
8 pages, 3 tables.-- PMID: 16911019 [PubMed]. ; The INMA (INfancia y Medio Ambiente [Environment and Childhood]) is a population-based cohort study in different Spanish cities, that focuses on prenatal environmental exposures and growth, development and health from early fetal life until childhood. The study focuses on five primary areas of research: (1) growth and physical development; (2) behavioural and cognitive development; (3) asthma and allergies; (4) sexual and reproductive development; and (5) environmental exposure pathways. The general aims of the project are: (1) to describe the degree of individual prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants, and the internal dose of chemicals during pregnancy, at birth and during childhood in Spain; (2) to evaluate the impact of the exposure to different contaminants on fetal and infant growth, health and development; (3) to evaluate the role of diet on fetal and infant growth, health and development; and (4) to evaluate the interaction between persistent pollutants, nutrients and genetic determinants on fetal and infant growth, health and development ; Extensive assessments will be carried out on 3100 pregnant women and children. Data will be collected by physical examinations, questionnaires, interviews, ultrasound and biological samples. Pregnant women are being assessed at 12, 20 and 32 weeks of gestation to collect information about environmental exposures and fetal growth. The children will be followed until the age of 4 years. ; We are grateful to all the mothers, their partners and the children who are taking part in the INMA Study, and to the midwives, obstetricians and paediatricians for their co-operation and help in recruitment and following up of the cohorts. This study could not have been undertaken without the financial support of the 'Instituto de Salud Carlos III' (G03/176) and 'RCESP' (C03/09). This study has also been supported in part by the 'Fundació "La Caixa"' for the Ribera d'Ebre cohort (97/009-00 and 00/077-00), the 'Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria' for the Valencia cohort (FIS 031615), the Menorca cohort (97/0588 and 00/0021-02), Asturias cohort (PI04-2018) and other PI04-1436, PI041509, PI041705, PI041666, PI041931, PI 04/2646, and the European Union Commission (QLK4-1999-01422) and Junta de Andalucía SAS (202/04) for the Granada cohort, and the Menorca cohort (QLK4-2000-00263). ; Peer reviewed
18 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables.-- PMID: 15913055 [PubMed]. ; [ESP] Cada vez existe mayor evidencia de la influencia de la dieta y de la exposición a dosis bajas de tóxicos durante la etapa prenatal y primera infancia sobre la salud y el bienestar en etapas posteriores de la vida. Siguiendo las recomendaciones de la OMS y de la Unión Europea en el año 2003 se constituyó la Red de Investigación Cooperativa Infancia y Medio Ambiente para estudiar los efectos del medio ambiente y la dieta en el desarrollo fetal e infantil en diversas zonas geográficas en España. La Red integra diversos grupos multidisciplinares de investigación y está constituida por seis cohortes, tres preexistentes y tres de novo, que seguirán de forma prospectiva a 3.600 mujeres embarazadas, desde el inicio del embarazo hasta los 4-6 años del niño. Los objetivos generales de la red son: (1) Describir la exposición individual a tóxicos ambientales durante la gestación y la primera infancia. (2) Evaluar los efectos de la exposición a tóxicos y de la dieta en el desarrollo fetal e infantil. (3) Evaluar la interacción entre factores tóxicos, nutricionales y genéticos en el desarrollo fetal e infantil. El seguimiento se realiza en cada trimestre de la gestación, al nacimiento, al año y hasta los cuatro o seis años del niño. La información se recoge mediante cuestionarios, datos clínicos, exploración física, ecografías, biomarcadores y mediciones ambientales. En este trabajo se presentan las características generales de la red y se describe la situación actual de cada una de las cohortes. ; [ENG] Increasingly greater evidence exists as to the influence which diet and exposure to low doses of toxic substances during the prenatal stage and early childhood has on health and well-being throughout later stages of life. Following the WHO and European Union recommendations in 2003, the Cooperative Environment and Childhood Research Network was set up to study the effects of the environment and diet on fetal and early childhood development in different geographical areas of Spain. This Network integrates different multidisciplinary research groups and is comprised of six cohorts - three pre-existing and three de novo - which will follow up prospectively 3,600 pregnant women, from the start of pregnancy up to age 4-6 years of the child. This network's general objectives are: (1) To describe individual exposure to toxic substances in the environment during gestation and early childhood. (2) To evaluate the effects of exposure to toxic substances and diet on fetal and early childhood development. (3) To evaluate the interaction among toxic, nutritional and genetic factors in fetal and early childhood development. The follow-up is done every three months during gestation, at birth, at age one and up to age four or six. The information is gathered by means of questionnaires, clinical data, physical examinations, echographs, biomarkers and environmental measurements. The general characteristics of the network and a description of the current situation of each one of the cohorts are provided in this study. ; La Red no se hubiera podido poner en marcha sin el apoyo económico del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (G03/176). El Estudio INMA ha recibido también ayudas de «Fundació La Caixa» para la cohorte de Ribera d'Ebre (97/009-00 and 00/077-00); de la Comisión de la Unión Europea (QLK4-1999-01422) para la cohorte de Granada; del «Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria» (FIS 031615), del Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (SAF 2002-03508), de la Generalitat Valenciana, Conselleria d'Empresa, Universitat i Ciencia (g03/136) para la cohorte de Valencia; del «Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria» (97/0588 y 00/0021-02) y de la Comisión de la Unión Europea (QLK4-2000-00263) para la cohorte de Menorca. ; Peer reviewed
[ES] Cada vez existe mayor evidencia de la influencia de la dieta y dela exposición a dosis bajas de tóxicos durante la etapa prenatal y primera infancia sobre la salud y el bienestar en etapas posteriores de lavida. Siguiendo las recomendaciones de la OMS y de la Unión Europea en el año 2003 se constituyó la Red de Investigación Cooperativa Infancia y Medio Ambiente para estudiar los efectos del medioambiente y la dieta en el desarrollo fetal e infantil en diversas zonas geográficas en España. La Red integra diversos grupos multidisciplinares de investigación y está constituida por seis cohortes, tres preexistentes y tres de novo, que seguirán de forma prospectiva a 3.600 mujeres embarazadas, desde el inicio del embarazo hasta los 46 años del niño. Los objetivos generales de la red son: (1) Describir la exposición individual a tóxicos ambientales durante la gestación y la primera infancia. (2) Evaluar los efectos de la exposición a tóxicos y de la dieta en el desarrollo fetal e infantil. (3) Evaluar la interacción entre factores tóxicos, nutricionales y genéticos en el desarrollo fetal e infantil. El seguimiento se realiza en cada trimestre de la gestación,al nacimiento, al año y hasta los cuatro o seis años del niño. La información se recoge mediante cuestionarios, datos clínicos, exploración física, ecografías, biomarcadores y mediciones ambientales. En este trabajo se presentan las caracterÌsticas generales de la red y se describe la situación actual de cada una de las cohortes. [EN] Increasingly greater evidence exists as to the influence which diet and exposure to low doses of toxic substances during the prenatal stage and early childhood has on health and well-being throughout later stages of life. Following the WHO and European Union recommendations in 2003, the Cooperative Environment and Childhood Research Network was set up to study the effects of the environment and diet on fetal and early childhood development in different geographical areas of Spain. This Network integrates different multidisciplinary research groups and is comprised of six cohorts--three pre-existing and three de novo--which will follow up prospectively 3,600 pregnant women, from the start of pregnancy up to age 4-6 years of the child. This network's general objectives are: (1) To describe individual exposure to toxic substances in the environment during gestation and early childhood. (2) To evaluate the effects of exposure to toxic substances and diet on fetal and early childhood development. (3) To evaluate the interaction among toxic, nutritional and genetic factors in fetal and early childhood development. The follow-up is done every three months during gestation, at birth, at age one and up to age four or six. The information is gathered by means of questionnaires, clinical data, physical examinations, echographs, biomarkers and environmental measurements. The general characteristics of the network and a description of the current situation of each one of the cohorts are provided in this study. ; Sí
Highly prevalent and typically beginning in childhood, asthma is a burdensome disease, yet the risk factors for this condition are not clarified. To enhance understanding, this study assessed the cohort-specific and pooled risk of maternal education on asthma in children aged 3-8 across 10 European countries. Data on 47,099 children were obtained from prospective birth cohort studies across 10 European countries. We calculated cohort-specific prevalence difference in asthma outcomes using the relative index of inequality (RII) and slope index of inequality (SII). Results from all countries were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis procedures to obtain mean RII and SII scores at the European level. Final models were adjusted for child sex, smoking during pregnancy, parity, mothers age and ethnicity. The higher the score the greater the magnitude of relative (RII, reference 1) and absolute (SII, reference 0) inequity. The pooled RII estimate for asthma risk across all cohorts was 1.46 (95% CI 1.26, 1.71) and the pooled SII estimate was 1.90 (95% CI 0.26, 3.54). Of the countries examined, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands had the highest prevalences of childhood asthma and the largest inequity in asthma risk. Smaller inverse associations were noted for all other countries except Italy, which presented contradictory scores, but with small effect sizes. Tests for heterogeneity yielded significant results for SII scores. Overall, offspring of mothers with a low level of education had an increased relative and absolute risk of asthma compared to offspring of high-educated mothers. ; Funding Agencies|European Unions Seventh Framework Programme as part of The Determinants to Reduce Health Inequity Via Early Childhood, Realising Fair Employment [278350]; Social Protection (DRIVERS) research programme; Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic: CETOCOEN plus project [CZ02101/00/00/15_003/0000469]; RECETOX Research Infrastructure [LM2015051]; Academy of Finland [FI-NFBC8586]; Biocenter, University of Oulu, Finland; European Commission EUROBLCS, Framework 5 Award [QLG1-CT-2000-01643]; EU [FP7 EurHEALTHAgeing-277849]; Medical Research Council, UK (PrevMetSyn/SALVE); MRC Centenary Early Career Award; Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) Grant (TOP) [40-00812-98-11010]; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; Swedish Child Diabetes Foundation (Barndiabetesfonden); Research Council of South-east Sweden (FORSS); Swedish Research Council [K2005-72X-11242-11A]; ALF/County Council of Ostergotland; European Union, Spain (Instituto de Salud Carlos III) [FP7-ENV-2011-282957, HEALTH. 2010.2.4.5-1]; European Union, Spain (Ministry of Health) [FP7-ENV-2011-282957, HEALTH. 2010.2.4.5-1]; Conselleria de Sanitat of the Generalitat Valenciana; Department of Health of the Basque Government; Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa; Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT; US NIH Fogarty International Center; National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine; Medical Research Council UK doctoral training studentship
Background A healthy start to life is a major priority in efforts to reduce health inequalities across Europe, with important implications for the health of future generations. There is limited combined evidence on inequalities in health among newborns across a range of European countries. Methods Prospective cohort data of 75 296 newborns from 12 European countries were used. Maternal education, preterm and small for gestational age births were determined at baseline along with covariate data. Regression models were estimated within each cohort and meta-analyses were conducted to compare and measure heterogeneity between cohorts. Results Mother's education was linked to an appreciable risk of preterm and small for gestational age (SGA) births across 12 European countries. The excess risk of preterm births associated with low maternal education was 1.48 (1.29 to 1.69) and 1.84 (0.99 to 2.69) in relative and absolute terms (Relative/Slope Index of Inequality, RII/SII) for all cohorts combined. Similar effects were found for SGA births, but absolute inequalities were greater, with an SII score of 3.64 (1.74 to 5.54). Inequalities at birth were strong in the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden and Spain and marginal in other countries studied. Conclusions This study highlights the value of comparative cohort analysis to better understand the relationship between maternal education and markers of fetal growth in different settings across Europe. ; All phases of this study were supported by a European Union's Seventh Framework Programme grant, 278350, as part of The Determinants to Reduce Health Inequity Via Early Childhood, Realising Fair Employment, and Social Protection (DRIVERS) research programme. The Czech ELSPAC Study was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic (LM2011028, LO1214) and the Grant Agency of the Masaryk University (MUNI/M/1075/2013). The Northern Finland Birth Cohort (NFBC8586) received financial support from the Academy of Finland, Biocenter, University of Oulu, Finland, the European Commission (EURO-BLCS, Framework 5 award QLG1-CT-2000-01643), EU FP7 EurHEALTHAgeing -277849, the Medical Research Council, UK ( PrevMetSyn/SALVE) and the MRC Centenary Early Career Award.