Second centre for major UK birth cohort study announced in Leicester
Posted 28 May 2015 - 11:18
The second centre to be used for a UK research study involving up to 80,000 babies will be hosted in Leicester, it has been announced.
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust is partnering with Life Study, which is aiming to understand and improve the lives of UK children and their families by collecting information about babies born between 2014 and 2018.
Pregnant women planning to give birth at Leicester Royal Infirmary or Leicester General Hospital (LGH) and their partners will be invited to join the study.
They will come to the new Life Study Centre at LGH in the second half of their pregnancy, and again when their baby is six and 12 months old.
The birth cohort study will follow the progress and experience of the babies and their families at different points in time as the babies grow up.
Recruitment will begin this summer and appointments will take place from September.
Research themes include the impact of a parent’s health on their child’s development; growth in infancy; childhood obesity; nutrition; and physical activity.
The study is aiming to include families from different ethnic and cultural groups who have been underrepresented in earlier community research studies on children.
Life Study scientific director Carol Dezateux said: ‘The information collected will help research into the childhood origins of important health problems such as obesity and diabetes and ultimately inform future policies and healthcare services that meet local population needs.’
The first Life Study Centre opened at King George Hospital in Ilford in March.
The study is led from University College London, which funds it along with the Economic and Social Research Council, the Medical Research Council and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills' Large Facilities Capital Fund.