scholarly journals The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC): an update on the enrolled sample of index children in 2019

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Northstone ◽  
Melanie Lewcock ◽  
Alix Groom ◽  
Andy Boyd ◽  
John Macleod ◽  
...  

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a prospective population-based study. Initial recruitment of pregnant women took place in 1990-1992 and the health and development of the index children from these pregnancies and their family members have been followed ever since. The eligible sampling frame was constructed retrospectively using linked recruitment and health service records. Additional offspring that were eligible to enrol in the study have been welcomed through major recruitment drives at the ages of 7 and 18 years; and through opportunistic contacts since the age of 7. This data note provides a status update on the recruitment of the index children since the age of 7 years with a focus on enrolment since the age of 18, which has not been previously described. A total of 913 additional G1 (the cohort of index children) participants have been enrolled in the study since the age of 7 years with 195 of these joining since the age of 18. This additional enrolment provides a baseline sample of 14,901 G1 participants who were alive at 1 year of age.

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Ruth E. Mitchell ◽  
Hannah J. Jones ◽  
Robert H. Yolken ◽  
Glen Ford ◽  
Lorraine Jones-Brando ◽  
...  

Antibodies against pathogens provide information on exposure to infectious agents and are meaningful measures of past and present infection. Antibodies were measured in the plasma of children that are the offspring in a population-based birth cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Plasma was collected during clinics at age 5, 7, 11 and 15 years. The antigens examined include: fungal (Saccharomyces cerevisiae); protozoan (Toxoplasma gondii and surface antigen 1 of T. gondii); herpes viruses (cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, herpes simplex virus type 1); common colds (influenza virus subtypes H1N1 and H3N2); other antigens (measles); animal (feline herpes virus, Theiler’s virus); bacteria (Helicobacter pylori); dietary antigens (bovine casein alpha protein, bovine casein beta protein). Alongside the depth of data available within the ALSPAC cohort, this longitudinal resource will enable the investigation of the association between infections and a wide variety of outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Daniel Smith ◽  
Claire Bowring ◽  
Nicholas Wells ◽  
Michael Crawford ◽  
Nicholas John Timpson ◽  
...  

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a prospective population-based cohort study which recruited pregnant women in 1990-1992 and has followed these women, their partners (Generation 0; G0) and their offspring (Generation 1; G1) ever since. The study has reacted rapidly and repeatedly to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, deploying online questionnaires throughout the pandemic. In November/December 2020, a fourth questionnaire was deployed asking about physical and mental health, lifestyle and behaviours, employment and finances. G0 participants were offered an online questionnaire between 17th November 2020 and 7th February 2021, while G1 participants were offered both online and paper questionnaires between 1st December 2020 and 19th March 2021. Of 15,844 invitations, 8,643 (55%) participants returned the questionnaire (3,101 original mothers [mean age 58.6 years], 1,172 original fathers/partners [mean age 61.5 years] and 4,370 offspring [mean age 28.4 years]). Of these 8,643 participants, 2,012 (23%) had not returned a previous COVID-19 questionnaire, while 3,575 (41%) had returned all three previous questionnaires. In this questionnaire, 300 participants (3.5%) reported a previous positive COVID-19 test, 110 (1.3%) had been told by a doctor they likely had COVID-19, and 759 (8.8%) suspected that they had had COVID-19. Based on self-reported symptoms, between October 2020 and February 2021 359 participants (4.2%) were predicted COVID-19 cases. COVID data is being complemented with linkage to health records and Public Health England pillar testing results as they become available. Data has been released as an update to the previous COVID-19 datasets. It comprises: 1) a standard dataset containing all participant responses to both questionnaires with key sociodemographic factors; and 2) as a composite release coordinating data from the existing resource, thus enabling bespoke research across all areas supported by the study. This data note describes the fourth questionnaire and the data obtained from it.


2004 ◽  
Vol 151 (Suppl_3) ◽  
pp. U125-U129 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Pembrey

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) has collected detailed phenotypic and environmental information from pregnancy onwards on approximately 14 000 babies born in 1991-1992. A DNA bank on over 10 000 mothers and children has been established with generic consent for (undisclosed) genetic analysis, and cell lines on both children and parents are planned. As a multigenerational population cohort unselected by disease, trait or exposure, ALSPAC is uniquely placed to explore the genetic and environmental determinants of adverse developmental responses and common disease. Added value for genetic epidemiology generally is the ability to detect distortion of the expected Mendelian 50:50 transmission of alleles to study subjects (e.g. due to differential loss of embryos of one genotype) or to test for heterosis, i.e. whether heterozygotes have a greater or lesser effect than either homozygote. Finally, phenome scans (a fixed format analysis of the associations between a genotype of interest and thousands of outcome variables from the cohort database) could be used as a screening tool to test whether certain classes of genetic variation have more impact than others on human health and development.


2004 ◽  
pp. U119-U123 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Golding

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a population-based study designed to understand the ways in which the physical and social environment interact, over time, with the genotype to affect health, behaviour and development. This information about causal interactions in common diseases and disorders will provide the basis on which future preventive interventions can be tested, especially in regard to people with specific genotypes. Whilst ALSPAC builds on data and hypotheses generated by earlier general population cohorts, its design offers special advantages, the most important being: enrolment in early pregnancy; banking of DNA from the children and parents (permitting genetic transmission tests and transgenerational imprinting studies); diverse physical, psychological and environmental measures; one geographical base (permitting medical record and school linkage; environmental measures in the home, and clinics for direct examination); annual hands-on examinations of the full cohort since age 7. The 14 541 enrolled pregnancies (expected date of delivery 1 April 1991 to 31 December 1992) represented about 85% of the eligible population. The 13 971 children who were still alive at age 12 months have been followed principally by questionnaires completed by a parent. Twelve years on, questionnaires are still being sent out to 11 300 families. The average questionnaire response rate from mothers is 79%. From age 7, annual examinations of both 'physical' and 'psychological' aspects have also been conducted on the children (approximately 8000 attend each 'clinic'). The quality of the data has proved high in validation studies and is maintained by collaboration with experts in each specialist field. The high participation rate ensures a viable study well into the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 278
Author(s):  
Daniel Smith ◽  
Kate Northstone ◽  
Claire Bowring ◽  
Nicholas Wells ◽  
Michael Crawford ◽  
...  

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a prospective population-based cohort study which recruited pregnant women in 1990-1992 from the Bristol area (UK). ALSPAC has followed these women, their partners (Generation 0; G0) and their offspring (Generation 1; G1) ever since. From 2012, ALSPAC has identified G1 participants who were pregnant (or their partner was) or had become parents, and enrolled them, their partners, and children in the ALSPAC-Generation 2 (ALSPAC-G2) study, providing a unique multi-generational cohort. At present, approximately 1,100 G2 children (excluding those in utero) from 810 G1 participants have been enrolled. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ALSPAC rapidly deployed two online questionnaires; one during the initial lockdown phase in 2020 (9th April-15th May), and another when national lockdown restrictions were eased (26th May-5th July). As part of this second questionnaire, G1 parents completed a questionnaire about each of their G2 children. This covered: parental reports of children’s feelings and behaviour since lockdown, school attendance, contact patterns, and health. A total of 289 G1 participants completed this questionnaire on behalf of 411 G2 children. This COVID-19 G2 questionnaire data can be combined with pre-pandemic ALSPAC-G2 data, plus ALSPAC-G1 and -G0 data, to understand how children’s health and behaviour has been affected by the pandemic and its management. Data from this questionnaire will be complemented with linkage to health records and results of biological testing as they become available. Prospective studies are necessary to understand the impact of this pandemic on children’s health and development, yet few relevant studies exist; this resource will aid these efforts. Data has been released as: 1) a freely-available dataset containing participant responses with key sociodemographic variables; and 2) an ALSPAC-held dataset which can be combined with existing ALSPAC data, enabling bespoke research across all areas supported by the study.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Daniel Smith ◽  
Claire Bowring ◽  
Nicholas Wells ◽  
Michael Crawford ◽  
Nicholas John Timpson ◽  
...  

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a prospective population-based cohort study which recruited pregnant women in 1990-1992 and has followed these women, their partners (Generation 0; G0) and their offspring (Generation 1; G1) ever since. The study has reacted rapidly and repeatedly to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, deploying online questionnaires throughout the pandemic. In November/December 2020, a fourth questionnaire was deployed asking about physical and mental health, lifestyle and behaviours, employment and finances. G0 participants were offered an online questionnaire between 17th November 2020 and 7th February 2021, while G1 participants were offered both online and paper questionnaires between 1st December 2020 and 19th March 2021. Of 15,844 invitations, 8,643 (55%) participants returned the questionnaire (3,101 original mothers [mean age 58.6 years], 1,172 original fathers/partners [mean age 61.5 years] and 4,370 offspring [mean age 28.4 years]). Of these 8,643 participants, 2,012 (23%) had not returned a previous COVID-19 questionnaire, while 3,575 (41%) had returned all three previous questionnaires. In this questionnaire, 300 participants (3.5%) reported a previous positive COVID-19 test, 110 (1.3%) had been told by a doctor they likely had COVID-19, and 759 (8.8%) suspected that they had had COVID-19. Based on self-reported symptoms, between October 2020 and February 2021 359 participants (4.2%) were predicted COVID-19 cases. COVID data is being complemented with linkage to health records and Public Health England pillar testing results as they become available. Data has been released as an update to the previous COVID-19 datasets. It comprises: 1) a standard dataset containing all participant responses to both questionnaires with key sociodemographic factors; and 2) as a composite release coordinating data from the existing resource, thus enabling bespoke research across all areas supported by the study. This data note describes the fourth questionnaire and the data obtained from it.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 210
Author(s):  
Kate Northstone ◽  
Daniel Smith ◽  
Claire Bowring ◽  
Nicholas Wells ◽  
Michael Crawford ◽  
...  

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a prospective population-based cohort study which recruited pregnant women in 1990-1992 and has followed these women, their partners and their offspring ever since. The study reacted rapidly to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, deploying an online questionnaire early on during lockdown (from 9th April to 15th May). In late May 2020, a second questionnaire was developed asking about physical and mental health, lifestyle and behaviours, employment and finances. The online questionnaire was deployed across the parent and offspring generations between the 26th May and 5th July 2020. 6482 participants completed the questionnaire (2639 original mothers, 1039 original fathers/partners, 2711 offspring (mean age ~28 years) and 93 partners of offspring). 1039 new participants who did not respond to the first questionnaire deployed in April completed the second questionnaire.  A positive COVID-19 was reported by 36 (0.6%) participants (12 G0 and 24 G1), 91 (1.4%; 35 G0 and 56 G1) reported that they had been told by a doctor they likely had COVID-19 and 838 (13%; 422 G0 and 416 G1) suspected that they have had COVID-19.  Using algorithmically estimated cases based on symptoms, we estimate that the predicted prevalence of COVID-19 from mid-April to time of questionnaire completion was 3.1%. Data from both COVID questionnaires will be complemented with linkage to health records and results of biological testing as they become available. Data has been released as an update to the original dataset released in May 2020. It comprises: 1) a standard dataset containing all participant responses to both questionnaires with key sociodemographic factors and 2) as a composite release coordinating data from the existing resource, thus enabling bespoke research across all areas supported by the study. This data note describes the second questionnaire and the data obtained from it.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Kate Northstone ◽  
Daniel Smith ◽  
Claire Bowring ◽  
Amanda Hill ◽  
Richard Hobbs ◽  
...  

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a prospective population-based cohort study which recruited pregnant women in 1990-1992 and has followed these women, their partners (Generation 0; G0) and offspring (Generation 1; G1) ever since. The study reacted rapidly to the COVID-19 pandemic, deploying online questionnaires in March and May 2020. Home-based antibody tests and a further questionnaire were sent to 5220 participants during a two-week period of October 2020.  4.2% (n=201) of participants reported a positive antibody test (3.2% G0s [n=81]; 5.6% G1s [n=120]). 43 reported an invalid test, 7 did not complete and 3 did not report their result. Participants uploaded a photo of their test to enable validation: all positive tests, those where the participant could not interpret the result and a 5% random sample were manually checked against photos. We report 92% agreement (kappa=0.853). Positive tests were compared to additional COVID-19 status information: 58 (1.2%) participants reported a previous positive test, 73 (1.5%) reported that COVID-19 was suspected by a doctor, but not tested and 980 (20.4%) believed they had COVID-19 due to their own suspicions.  Of those reporting a positive result on our antibody test, 55 reported that they did not think they had had COVID-19. Results from antibody testing and questionnaire data will be complemented by health record linkage and results of other biological testing– uniting Pillar testing data with home testing and self-report. Data have been released as an update to the original datasets released in July 2020. It comprises: 1) a standard dataset containing all participant responses to all three questionnaires with key sociodemographic factors and 2) as individual participant-specific release files enabling bespoke research across all areas supported by the study. This data note describes the antibody testing, associated questionnaire and the data obtained from it.


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