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Tehran environmental and neurodevelopmental disorders (TEND) cohort study: Phase I, feasibility assessment
Mansour Shamsipour1, Reihaneh Pirjani2, Maryam Zare Jeddi3
1Department of Research Methodology and Data Analysis, Institute for Environmental Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Insights
Conducting a birth cohort study in Tehran revealed challenges in participant recruitment and biological sample collection. Hospitals are ideal recruitment sites, but collaboration is key for successful data acquisition.
Area of Science:
- Environmental health
- Epidemiology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Childhood neurodevelopmental disorders pose a significant public health challenge.
- Understanding environmental determinants is crucial for prevention and intervention strategies.
- Prospective birth cohort studies are essential for investigating early-life exposures and long-term health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of establishing a prospective birth cohort study in Tehran, Iran.
- To identify optimal recruitment strategies and biological sample collection methods.
- To inform future research on environmental factors influencing childhood neurodevelopment.
Main Methods:
- A four-step evaluation was conducted, covering pregnancy trimesters, delivery, and postpartum.
- Data were collected via questionnaires from pregnant women and mothers.
- Biological samples were obtained from mothers (blood, urine, milk, nails) and newborns (cord blood, meconium, urine).
Main Results:
- 838 pregnant women were approached, with a 25% participation rate (206 women).
- Hospital recruitment yielded a 90% success rate among participants.
- Sample collection success varied, with higher rates in early pregnancy and challenges with newborn samples.
Conclusions:
- Hospitals are effective recruitment centers for birth cohort studies in Tehran.
- Optimizing recruitment timing and enhancing hospital-researcher collaboration are vital for study success.
- Addressing challenges in collecting newborn biological samples is necessary for comprehensive data.
Purpose:
To advance knowledge about childhood neurodevelopmental disorders and study their environmental determinants, we conducted a study in Tehran, Iran to assess the feasibility of prospective birth cohort study.
Methods:
We evaluated participation of pregnant women, feasibility of sampling biological material, and health care services availability in Tehran in four steps: (1) first trimester of pregnancy; (2) third trimester of pregnancy; (3) at delivery; and (4) two to three months after delivery. We collected related data through questionnaires, also various biological samples were obtained from mothers (blood, urine, milk and nails-hands and feet) and newborns (umbilical cord blood, meconium, and urine samples) from February 2016 to October 2017.
Results:
overall 838 eligible pregnant women were approached. The participation rate was 206(25%) in our study and about 185(90%) of subjects were recruited in hospitals. Out of 206 participants in the first trimester, blood, urine, hand nail, and foot nail samples were collected from 206(100%),193(93%), 205(99%), and 205(99%), respectively. These values dropped to 65(54%), 83(69%), 84(70%), and 84(70%) for the remaining participants 120(58%) in the third trimester, respectively. Also, we gathered milk samples from 125(60%) of mothers at two to three months after delivery.
Conclusion:
Our findings suggest that hospitals were better places for recruitment of subjects in a birth cohort in Tehran. We further concluded that birth cohort study recruitment can be improved by choosing appropriate gestational ages. Obtaining the newborn's urine, meconium, and umbilical cord blood were challenging procedures and require good collaboration between hospital staff and researchers.
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