Abstract
BackgroundBorn in Bradford (BiB) is a prospective multi-ethnic pregnancy and birth cohort study that was established to examine determinants of health and development during childhood and, subsequently, adult life in a deprived multi-ethnic population in the north of England. Between 2007 and 2010, the BiB cohort recruited 12,453 women who experienced 13,776 pregnancies and 13,858 births, along with 3353 of their partners. Forty five percent of the cohort are of Pakistani origin. Now that children are at primary school, the first full follow-up of the cohort is taking place. The aims of the follow-up are to investigate the determinants of children’s pre-pubertal health and development, including through understanding parents’ health and wellbeing, and to obtain data on exposures in childhood that might influence future health.MethodsWe are employing a multi-method approach across three data collection arms (community-based family visits, school based physical assessment, and whole classroom cognitive, motor function and wellbeing measures) to follow-up over 9000 BiB children aged 7–11 years and their families between 2017 and 2021. We are collecting detailed parent and child questionnaires, cognitive and sensorimotor assessments, blood pressure, anthropometry and blood samples from parents and children. Dual x-ray absorptiometry body scans, accelerometry and urine samples are collected on subsamples. Informed consent is collected for continued routine data linkage to health, social care and education records. A range of engagement activities are being used to raise the profile of BiB and to disseminate findings.DiscussionOur multi-method approach to recruitment and assessment provides an efficient method of collecting rich data on all family members. Data collected will enhance BiB as a resource for the international research community to study the interplay between ethnicity, socioeconomic circumstances and biology in relation to cardiometabolic health, mental health, education, cognitive and sensorimotor development and wellbeing.
Highlights
Born in Bradford (BiB) is a prospective multi-ethnic pregnancy and birth cohort study that was established to examine determinants of health and development during childhood and, subsequently, adult life in a deprived multi-ethnic population in the north of England
Using linked General Practice (GP) data, we have found that Pakistani mothers have a higher prevalence of undiagnosed and untreated depression and anxiety, and that these mothers have children with worse socioemotional wellbeing at age 4–5 years [6, 14, 30]
We have shown that Pakistani women are less likely to experience hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) compared to white British women, but that HDP is more robustly associated with offspring BP at age 4–5 years in Pakistani compared to white British children [4]
Summary
We provide a summary of methods employed in each arm of the follow-up. Further information on samples, recruitment and data collection is provided in Additional Files 2-6. Since 2018, trained BiB Research Assistants work alongside the school nurse team to administer accelerometers and a child-completed diet and activity questionnaire and take a non-fasting blood sample. Teachers are provided with a 1 page summary of cognitive assessment results for each child in their class, with a visual summary of results showing the child’s capability relative to other Bradford children in their age group (see Additional File 7). For objective 3: Determinants of child cognitive and motor development at age 7–11
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