Abstract
BackgroundYoung adulthood is a critical life period for health and health behaviours. Related measurements collected before and after birth, and during childhood and adolescence can provide a life-course analysis of important factors that contribute to health and behaviour in young adulthood. The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study has collected a large number of such measurements during the fetal, perinatal, infancy, childhood and adolescence periods and plans to relate them to common health issues and behaviours in young adults, including spinal pain, asthma, sleep disorders, physical activity and sedentary behaviour and, work absenteeism and presenteeism. The aim of this paper is to describe the rationale, design and methods of the 22 year follow-up of the Raine Study cohort.Methods/DesignThe Raine Study is a prospective cohort study. Participants still active in the cohort (n = 2,086) were contacted around the time of their 22nd birthday and invited to participate in the 22 year follow-up. Each was asked to complete a questionnaire, attend a research facility for physical assessment and an overnight sleep study, wear activity monitors for a week, and to maintain a sleep and activity diary over this week. The questionnaire was broad and included questions related to sociodemographics, medical history, quality of life, psychological factors, lifestyle factors, spinal pain, respiratory, sleep, activity and work factors. Physical assessments included anthropometry, blood pressure, back muscle endurance, tissue sensitivity, lung function, airway reactivity, allergic status, 3D facial photographs, cognitive function, and overnight polysomnography.DiscussionDescribing the prevalence of these health issues and behaviours in young adulthood will enable better recognition of the issues and planning of health care resources. Providing a detailed description of the phenotype of these issues will provide valuable information to help educate health professionals of the needs of young adults. Understanding the life-course risk factors of health issues and behaviours in young adulthood will have important health planning implications, supporting the development of targeted interventions to improve current health status and reduce the onset and development of further ill-health across adulthood.
Highlights
Young adulthood is a critical life period for health and health behaviours
With Raine Study participants turning 22–23 years of age, five focus areas received funding for further, indepth assessment: spinal pain, asthma, sleep and its disorders, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, and work productivity. These are important health-related issues, currently under-researched among young adults, which are likely to be influenced by early life factors and be informed by a life-course approach where rich pregnancy, perinatal, infancy, childhood and adolescent data are available
International evidence shows that young adulthood is a critical time for development of lifelong behaviours and for increasing inactivity and sedentary behaviour
Summary
The 22 year follow-up of the Raine Study cohort provides unprecedented data on the prevalence, clinical picture (phenotype), risk factors and inter-relationships for multiple health conditions and behaviours among young adults. In middle aged adults there is an association between the severity of OSA and reported hours exercised per week, independent of traditional covariates, including BMI [177], suggesting that physical activity may be an additional, potentially modifiable, risk factor. Obesity is a risk factor that may influence pain, asthma, sleep disorders and limit physical activity and work productivity via a number of different mechanisms [179] All of these health conditions and behaviours may contribute to work productivity
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