ネパールでの出生コホート研究における早期ライフエクスポージャー、神経発達、および健康アウトカムに関する研究プロトコル

科学分野:

• Environmental Health
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Global Health

背景:

• Negative early-life exposures, especially in the first 1000 days, can disrupt organ development and cause long-term health issues.
• Understanding these exposures is critical for preventing lifelong negative health consequences.

研究 の 目的:

• To characterize early-life risk factors, including environmental pollutants and nutritional status, using an exposome and deep-phenotyping framework.
• To identify associations between these exposures and short- and long-term health and developmental outcomes in children.
• To investigate the most common environmental pollutants in Nepalese women and children and their social gradient.

主な方法:

• Utilizing a pregnancy cohort of 800 mother-infant pairs in Bhaktapur, Nepal, nested within a randomized controlled trial.
• Collecting data on clinical, dietary, cognitive, demographic, anthropometric, environmental pollutant, inflammation, micronutrient, and hormonal variables during pregnancy and infancy.
• Assessing outcomes including neurodevelopment, morbidity, mental health, vaccine responses, thyroid function, growth, body composition, lung function, and biomarkers of health and development.

主要な成果:

• Enrollment began in March 2017, with over 90% of the cohort providing data through the child's 4th birthday.
• Project funding extends until July 2027, with publications anticipated before the end of 2026.
• Analysis will examine associations using cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort designs with advanced statistical methods.

結論:

• The study leverages a well-characterized South Asian mother-child cohort with extensive longitudinal data and biological samples.
• Integrating exposome data aims to enhance understanding of early-life health determinants.
• Findings will inform policies and interventions to protect vulnerable women and children in marginalized settings.