Cohort profile: Aichi regional sub-cohort of the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS-A)
Takeshi Ebara1, Yasuyuki Yamada2,3, Naoto Shoji2,4
1Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences and Medical School, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan ebara@med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp.
Insights
The Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS-A) birth cohort tracks children's health, collecting diverse data to understand environmental impacts from pregnancy through childhood.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Pediatric Epidemiology
- Birth Cohort Studies
Background:
- Investigating fetal, perinatal, and childhood environmental influences on child health is crucial.
- The Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) is a large-scale birth cohort study.
- The Aichi regional sub-cohort (JECS-A) provides unique data on factors affecting children's health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish and utilize the JECS-A, an ongoing birth cohort study.
- To collect multifaceted data on potential factors influencing children's health.
- To complement the larger JECS with region-specific insights.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 5721 pregnant women and 5554 children in Ichinomiya and Nagoya cities.
- Collected sociodemographic, psychological, and biological data from mothers and children.
- Gathered data on children's demographics, behavior, childcare, and psychiatric status, including urine samples and anthropometrics.
Main Results:
- JECS-A demographics showed similar age at delivery trends compared to national statistics.
- Observed differences in education level and household income among participants.
- 5502 children remained in the cohort at 18 months, with demographics representative of the study areas.
Conclusions:
- JECS-A successfully enrolled a cohort representative of the study population.
- The cohort provides valuable data for understanding environmental impacts on child health.
- JECS-A findings will complement JECS and offer generalizable results.
Purpose:
Effects of fetal, perinatal and childhood environment on the health of children at birth and during later life have become a topic of concern. The Aichi regional sub-cohort of the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS-A) is an ongoing birth cohort of pregnant women and their children which has been used to provide unique data, as adjunct studies of JECS, on multifaceted potential factors affecting children's health.
Participants:
The JECS-A is part of the JECS which follows a total of 100 000 pairs of children and their mothers (fathers' participation is optional) across 15 regions in Japan. In JECS-A, of the 8134 pregnant women living in Ichinomiya City and Nagoya City, Japan, a total of 5721 pregnant women and their 5554 children were included. Sociodemographic and psychological data as well as biological specimens were collected from the pregnant women and their spouses (if available) in the cohort during their pregnancy. Information on children included in the JECS-A was collected from their mothers and includes demographic, behavioural, childcare, psychological and psychiatric data. Urine extracted from disposable diapers and anthropometric data were also obtained from the children.
Findings To Date:
A similar distribution trend for age at delivery was confirmed between the pregnant women enrolled in the JECS-A and the national statistics of the relevant areas. However, differences in education level and household income were observed. A total of 5502 children remained in the cohort at 18 months after delivery. Compared with the national statistics, the basic demographics of the children in the cohort represented the population in the study areas.
Future Plans:
The enrolled children in the JECS-A will be followed until the age of 13 years. The studies that come from JECS-A will complement JECS and bring novel results with a high level of generalisability.
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