The Reus-Tarragona Birth Cohort Study of Early Development and Ageing.
Condition: Intrauterine Development
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      The recent fall in birth and death rates has led to demographic changes such as low fertility
      and high life expectancy . The WHO reports the median age of the European population to be
      the highest in the world and predicts that the proportion of over-60s in will increase from
      14% in 2010 to 25% in 2050. There is wide variability in the quality of health and well-being
      in the ageing population. Longevity with a good quality of life is a consequence of the
      combination of an individual's genes, nutrition, environment, lifestyle and medical
      interventions. There is increasing evidence that research into healthy ageing needs to start
      with early life data to capture all traits and exposures experienced by an individual
      throughout life. Epigenetic imprinting occurs both in utero and during early postnatal
      development. Maternal environmental exposures, including nutritional status, may have a
      permanent effect on the developing foetus by influencing epigenetic profiles and leading to
      life-long genome adaptation. Numerous reports show that restricted intra-uterine growth due
      to poor maternal nutrition during pregnancy increases risk in the offspring of developing
      mental disorders, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease or stroke in later life. To
      understand the basic mechanisms and interactions through which the ageing phenotype develops,
      systems involved in key processes of early development must be considered as well as those
      crucial to health in older persons. The Reus and Tarragona Birth Cohort is a longitudinal
      study. In the first phase, blood is collected from pregnant women at <12, 15, 24-27 and 34
      gestational weeks (GW) and at labor and from the cord. Detailed lifestyle, habits and
      supplement use data are collected at 20 and 32 gestational weeks and on nutritional habits at
      <12GW and at birth. Placental vascular function is assessed at 20 and 32 GW by analysis of
      Doppler waveforms of the uterine arteries. Data on pregnancy evolution and outcome are also
      recorded. The first phase investigates the association between gene-environment (nutrient and
      lifestyle habits) interactions and fetal growth and pregnancy outcome. The second phase of
      the study follows up the children at 7.5 years of age. Growth, exercise and nutritional
      habits as well as environment and cognitive development are assessed. The aims are to
      investigate the association between gene-environment interactions associated with healthy
      development from early pregnancy until 7.5 years of age.
    


Intervention name(s): Observational
Intervention type(s): Other
Observational model: Cohort
Time perspective: Prospective
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Women less than 12 weeks pregnant at their first pre-natal check up are recruited from the
        URV University Hospitals: Sant Joan (Reus) and Joan XXIII (Tarragona)
      
Biospecimen description: 
      Plasma Serum Leukocytes Placenta