Review European Birth Cohorts for Environmental Health Research Martine Vrijheid,1,2,3 Maribel Casas,1,2,3 Anna Bergström,4 Amanda Carmichael,5 Sylvaine Cordier,6 Merete Eggesbø,7 Esben Eller,8 Maria P. Fantini,9 Mariana F. Fernández,3,10 Ana Fernández-Somoano,3,11 Ulrike Gehring,12 Regina Grazuleviciene,13 Cynthia Hohmann,14 Anne M. Karvonen,15 Thomas Keil,14 Manolis Kogevinas,1,2,3,16 Gudrun Koppen,17 Ursula Krämer,18 Claudia E. Kuehni,19,20 Per Magnus,7 Renata Majewska,21 Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen,22 Evridiki Patelarou,23 Maria Skaalum Petersen,24 Frank H. Pierik,25,26 Kinga Polanska,27 Daniela Porta,28 Lorenzo Richiardi,29 Ana Cristina Santos,30 Rémy Slama,31 Radim J. Sram,32 Carel Thijs,33 Christina Tischer,34 Gunnar Toft,35 Tomáš Trnovec,36 Stephanie Vandentorren,37 Tanja G.M. Vrijkotte,38 Michael Wilhelm,39 John Wright,40 and Mark Nieuwenhuijsen1,2,3 1Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain; 2Hospital del Mar Research Institute (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain; 3Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Spain; 4Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; 5School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, United Kingdom; 6French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), U625; University of Rennes I; IFR140; Rennes, France; 7Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway; 8Department of Dermatology and Allergy Centre, Odense University Hospital, Denmark; 9Department of Public Health, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 10Laboratory of Medical Investigations, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; 11University of Oviedo, Asturias, Spain; 12Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; 13Department of Environmental Sciences, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania; 14Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité University Medical Center, Berlin, Germany; 15Department of Environmental Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland; 16National School of Public Health, Athens, Greece; 17Environmental Risk and Health Unit, Flemish Institute of Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium; 18IUF - Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF), Düsseldorf, Germany; 19Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; 20Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom; 21Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland; 22Section for Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; 23Department of Social Medicine, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece; 24Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, The Faroese Hospital System, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands; 25Department of Urban Environment, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Utrecht, the Netherlands; 26The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; 27Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Lodz, Poland; 28Department of Epidemiology Regional Health Service, Lazio, Rome, Italy; 29Cancer Epidemiology Unit, CPO-Piemonte and University of Turin, Turin, Italy; 30Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Porto Medical School and Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; 31INSERM and Grenoble University, Team of Environmental Epidemiology Applied to Reproduction and Respiratory Health, Institut Albert Bonniot (U823), Grenoble, France; 32Institute of Experimental Medicine AS CR, Prague, Czech Republic; 33Department of Epidemiology, School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; 34Helmholtz Zentrum, München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Neuherberg, Germany; 35Department of Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 36Slovak Medical University, Bratislava, Slovakia; 37National Institute of Public Health Surveillance (InVS), Saint Maurice, France; 38Department of Public Health, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 39Hygiene, Social and Environmental Medicine, Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany; 40Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford, United Kingdom Background : Many pregnancy and birth cohort studies investigate the health effects of early-life environmental contaminant exposure. An overview of existing studies and their data is needed to improve collaboration, harmonization, and future project planning. o Bjectivs : Our goal was to create a comprehensive overview of European birth cohorts with envi- ronmental exposure data. Methods : Birth cohort studies were included if they a) collected data on at least one environmen- tal exposure, b) started enrollment during pregnancy or at birth, c) included at least one follow-up point after birth, d) included at least 200 mother–child pairs, and e) were based in a European country. A questionnaire collected information on basic protocol details and exposure and health outcome assessments, including specific contaminants, methods and samples, timing, and number of subjects. A full inventory can be searched on www.birthcohortsenrieco.net. r esult : Questionnaires were completed by 37 cohort studies of > 350,000 mother–child pairs in 19 European countries. Only three cohorts did not participate. All cohorts collected biological specimens of children or parents. Many cohorts collected information on passive smoking (n = 36), maternal occupation (n = 33), outdoor air pollution (n = 27), and allergens/biological organisms (n = 27). Fewer cohorts (n = 12–19) collected information on water contamination, ionizing or nonionizing radiation exposures, noise, metals, persistent organic pollutants, or other pollutants. All cohorts have information on birth outcomes; nearly all on asthma, allergies, childhood growth and obesity; and 26 collected information on child neurodevelopment. c onclusi k ey : Combining forces in this field will yield more efficient and conclusive studies and ultimately improve causal inference. hTis impressive resource of existing birth cohort data could form the basis for longer-term and worldwide coordination of research on environment and child health. owrds : birth cohorts, child health, environmental exposures, Europe, review. Environ Health Perspect 120:29–37 (2012). http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1103823 [Online 29 August 2011] It is well recognized that the fetus and infant are especially vulnerable to the effects of envi- ronmental risk factors that disrupt develop- mental processes, due to a) critical windows of vulnerability that occur during the rapid growth and development of organs and systems, b) immaturities in metabolism, and c) greater intake and absorption of noxious agents in children relative to their body weight (Grandjean et al. 2008). Chemical, physical, and biological hazards in the environment may lead to serious health problems at birth and Environmental Health Perspectives • volume 120 | number 1 | January 2012 during childhood, ranging from premature birth, low birth weight, and congenital anoma- lies to respiratory diseases, childhood cancer, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and possibly even obesity (Trasande et al. 2009; Wigle et al. 2007). The economic and societal costs associated with nonoptimal child health and development are substantial. Furthermore, the effects of exposure to environmental risk factors may manifest themselves throughout a lifetime and even over generations. Common physical and mental diseases in adult life appear to have part of their origin in early life (Gillman et al. 2007; Kuh et al. 2003). Epidemiological studies worldwide have investigated the role of early environmental Address correspondence to M. Vrijheid, Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Doctor Aiguader, 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain. Telephone: 34 932 147 346. Fax: 34 932 147 301. E-mail: mvrijheid@creal.cat Supplemental Material is available online (http:// dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1103823). We thank all other cohort researchers and tech- nical staff who have helped with the completion of the questionnaires. This work was supported by Environmental Health Risks in European Birth Cohorts (ENRIECO), a proj- ect conducted within the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (Theme 6, Environment, including climate change), grant agreement 226285. The authors declare they have no actual or potential competing financial interests. Received 14 April 2011; accepted 29 August 2011. 29