Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 6, 2026
06:34
A Component-resolved Diagnostic Approach for a Study on Grass Pollen Allergens in Chinese Southerners with Allergic Rhinitis and/or Asthma
Published on: June 4, 2017
10.5K
The Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study (BIGCS)
Xiu Qiu1, Jin-Hua Lu1, Jian-Rong He1
1Division of Birth Cohort Study, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, 9 Junsui Road, Zhujiang Newtown, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510623, China.
European Journal of Epidemiology
|March 22, 2017
Summary
The Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study (BIGCS) tracks social, biological, and environmental factors affecting pregnancy and child health. This large cohort study collects extensive data to understand child development in urban China.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study (BIGCS) is a large-scale, prospective, observational study.
- It investigates social, biological, and environmental influences on pregnancy and child health in urban southern China.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the role of various factors in pregnancy outcomes and child development.
- To establish a comprehensive dataset for long-term child health research.
Main Methods:
- Recruitment of pregnant women (<20 weeks gestation) attending Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center since February 2012.
- Collection of questionnaires, biological samples (blood, stool, placenta), and linkage to health records.
- Planned follow-up of children until age 18 and linkage to educational records.
Main Results:
- High participation rate (76.3%) with a target of 30,000 mother-child pairs by December 2018.
- As of April 2016, 75,422 questionnaires and 1,053,000 biological samples were collected.
- 14,696 live births recorded with ongoing follow-up.
Conclusions:
- The BIGCS has established a substantial cohort with rich data on pregnancy and early childhood.
- The study is well-positioned to investigate the complex interplay of factors influencing child health and development.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Bias in Epidemiological Studies
1.5K
Biases can arise at various stages of research, from study design and data collection to analysis and interpretation. Recognizing and addressing these biases is essential to ensure the validity and reliability of epidemiological findings.Broadly speaking, biases in epidemiology fall into three main categories: selection bias, information bias, and confounding. A more detailed description of possible biases is:
1.5K
01:26Longitudinal Studies
584
Longitudinal studies are also widely used in other medical and social science fields. For instance, in cardiovascular research, they can monitor patients' health over decades to identify risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or smoking, and evaluate the long-term effectiveness of preventive measures. Similarly, in mental health studies, researchers might follow individuals from adolescence into adulthood to understand the development and progression of conditions like...
584
01:11Genome-wide Association Studies-GWAS
16.2K
Genome-wide association studies or GWAS are used to identify whether common SNPs are associated with certain diseases. Suppose specific SNPs are more frequently observed in individuals with a particular disease than those without the disease. In that case, those SNPs are said to be associated with the disease. Chi-square analysis is performed to check the probability of the allele likely to be associated with the disease.
GWAS does not require the identification of the target gene involved in...
GWAS does not require the identification of the target gene involved in...
16.2K
01:50Cross-Sectional Research
12.8K
In cross-sectional research, a researcher compares multiple segments of the population at the same time. If they were interested in people's dietary habits, the researcher might directly compare different groups of people by age. Instead of following a group of people for 20 years to see how their dietary habits changed from decade to decade, the researcher would study a group of 20-year-old individuals and compare them to a group of 30-year-old individuals and a group of 40-year-old...
12.8K
02:20Longitudinal Research
13.6K
Sometimes we want to see how people change over time, as in studies of human development and lifespan. When we test the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time, we are conducting longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time. For example, we may survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again...
13.6K
01:27Confounding in Epidemiological Studies
914
Confounding in statistical epidemiology represents a pivotal challenge, referring to the distortion in the perceived relationship between an exposure and an outcome due to the presence of a third variable, known as a confounder. This variable is associated with both the exposure and the outcome but is not a direct link in their causal chain. Its presence can lead to erroneous interpretations of the exposure's effect, either exaggerating or underestimating the true association. This...
914