Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO)

February 5, 2026 updated by: Obstetrics & Gynaecology, National University Hospital, Singapore

Developmental Pathways to Health and Disease: Metabolic, Neurodevelopmental and Related Outcomes

This study aims to examine the role of genetic and epigenetic factors, maternal nutrition, lifestyle, emotional health, and other environmental factors in pregnancy or postpartum period that can influence future maternal risk of metabolic and mental wellness, including body weight changes. The study will recruit women in early pregnancy and later follow their children after birth, tracking both the mother and child until the child reaches at least 20 years of age.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Detailed Description

The dramatic emergence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Asia has coincided with the rapid socioeconomic and nutritional transition taking place in the region, with the prevalence of diabetes rising five-fold in Singapore in less than four decades. One unique aspect of the epidemic has been the significant ethnic differences in predisposition to diabetes among Asians and in the ethnic variation between BMI and the risk of developing insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes. Apart from genetic factors, dietary, lifestyle and cultural factors might have influenced the developmental programming through effects on the mechanisms associated with developmental plasticity. A center piece of this study is to examine how epigenetic changes at birth both reflects past developmental influences and, in association with other factors, influences future trajectories of development and its relationship to NCDs. Also factors active during childhood - especially the first 1000 days of life - will be focused upon. The longitudinal GUSTO birth cohort study allows us to examine associations among genetic, environmental and lifestyle interactions in the three distinct ethnic groups, Chinese, Malays and Indians, present in the Singaporean population. Participants have been followed up for their pregnancy outcome, fetal growth and offspring development. In continuation of this research, participants will continue to be followed up through their adolescence phase from the age of 10 to 20 years.

Data will be collected through questionnaires and measurements.

  • Questionnaires may be related to socioeconomic factors, healthcare expenses, diet, medical history, behaviour, cognition, lifestyle, sleep, health status, social-emotion factors, and home environment.
  • Body measurements such as height, weight, blood pressure, body composition analysis involving bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), grip strength.
  • Dental examination
  • Child pubertal assessments
  • Skin clinical assessment and digital photography for assessment of acne presence and severity
  • Monitoring physical activity level and sedentary behaviour by using an accelerometer
  • Using mobile phone app to collect information about your child's mobile phone usage patterns, activities etc.
  • Collection of samples e.g. blood, buccal swabs, saliva, hair, urine, stool, skin samples, oral specimen such as exfoliated milk teeth, dental plaque and tongue biofilms

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
1247

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Singapore
    • Singapore
      • Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
        • National University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 50 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Pregnant women attending their first-trimester antenatal visit at public maternity units in KKH and NUH, along with their children born from the indexed pregnancy.

Description

Inclusion Criteria of Mother Participants:

  • Women 18 years and above
  • Pregnant women attending the first visit (< 14 weeks GA) at the maternity units of KKH and NUH
  • Singapore citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents
  • Currently resident in mainland Singapore
  • Intention to eventually deliver in KKH or NUH
  • Intention to reside in Singapore for the next 5 years
  • Intention to donate cord, cord blood and placenta
  • The fetus should be racially homogenous with both sets of grandparents of the same ethnicity

Exclusion Criteria of Mother Participants:

  • Women whose pregnancies end in miscarriages will be excluded
  • Pregnant women on chemotherapy
  • Exclude women with significant medical conditions e.g. Type 1 diabetes mellitus, psychosis etc.
  • Exclude women on certain medications - e.g. psychotropic drugs.
  • Mixed marriages will be excluded

Babies born from these mothers will be invited to participate and followed up until the child is at least 20 years of age.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Pregnant mothers, infants and children
Women in their early pregnancy who are attending the first trimester antenatal ultrasound scan at the public maternity units at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) and National University Hospital (NUH). Only women age 18 years and above who are Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents. Participants have to intend to eventually deliver in NUH or KKH and to reside in Singapore for the next 5 years. Willingness to donate cord, cord blood and placenta. The fetus should be racially homogenous with both sets of grandparents of the same ethnicity. Babies born from these mothers will be followed up until the child is at least 20 years of age.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Roles of fetal, developmental and epigenetic factors in pathways to disease
Time Frame: Perinatal
To evaluate the role of fixed genetic risk variants, modifiable epigenetic markers, circulating metabolites and hormones in blood, and host-microbe interactions which can reflect past developmental influences, and in association with other factors, affect future trajectories of development and its relationship to NCDs.
Perinatal

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Influence of prenatal and early postnatal factors on child health
Time Frame: During pregnancy and infancy period
To examine the role of maternal nutrition, lifestyle, emotional health, and other environmental factors in infancy that can influence the development of phenotypes in childhood which confer risk for later metabolic and mental disorders.
During pregnancy and infancy period
Effect of factors in pregnancy and early postpartum period on maternal health
Time Frame: During pregnancy and postpartum period
To examine the role of maternal nutrition, lifestyle, emotional health, and other environmental factors in pregnancy or postpartum period that can influence future maternal risk of metabolic disorders, including body weight changes.
During pregnancy and postpartum period
Influence genetic and epigenetics factors in combination with lifestyle on child health
Time Frame: Childhood and Adolescence up to age 20
To examine the role of genetic and epigenetic factors, lifestyle (physical activity and dietary intake), growth trajectories and other environmental factors that can influence the development of phenotypes in childhood which confer risk for later metabolic and mental disorders.
Childhood and Adolescence up to age 20

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
National University Hospital, Singapore

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
KK Women's and Children's Hospital
National University of Singapore
Institute for Human Development and Potential (IHDP), Singapore

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Yap Seng Chong, National University Health System

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 1, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 1, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 3, 2010

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 4, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 5, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • CIRB 2019/2655/E
  • NMRC/TCR/004-NUS/2008 (Other Grant/Funding Number: National Medical Research Council)
  • NMRC/TCR/012-NUHS/2014 (Other Grant/Funding Number: National Medical Research Council)
  • MOH-000504 (Other Grant/Funding Number: National Medical Research Council)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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