IJERPH, Vol. 17, Pages 5276: Population-Based Birth Cohort Studies in Epidemiology

IJERPH, Vol. 17, Pages 5276: Population-Based Birth Cohort Studies in Epidemiology International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph17155276 Authors: Cristina Canova Anna Cantarutti Birth cohort studies are the most appropriate type of design to determine the causal relationship between potential risk factors during the prenatal or postnatal period and the health status of the newborn up to childhood and potentially adulthood. To date, there has been a growth in interest regarding observational population-based studies which are performed to provide answers to specific research questions for defined populations, for instance, assessing the exposure to environmental pollutants or drugs on the risk of developing a disease. Birth cohorts based on the recruitment and active follow-up of mothers and children allow the collection of biological material, and specific clinical and genetic information. However, they require a considerable amount of time and resources and, besides being usually of limited size, they are exposed to the risk of the loss of subjects to follow-up, with decreased statistical power and possible selection bias. For these reasons, linking the medical birth register with administrative health records for mothers and babies is increasingly being used in countries with a universal healthcare system, allowing researchers to identify large and unselected populations from birth, and to reconstruct relevant traits and car...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research