The China-Anhui Birth Cohort Study (C-ABCS)

A Prospective Population-based Cohort Study That Recruited 16766 Pregnant Women From Six Major Cities of Anhui Province in China

The China-Anhui Birth Cohort Study (C-ABCS) was set up to examine the delayed, cumulative and interactive effects of maternal environmental exposures on birth outcomes and children's development. The C-ABCS recruited pregnant women from six major cities of Anhui province, China, between November 2008 and October 2010. A range of data (including demographic, obstetric, occupational, nutritional and psychosocial factors) were collected by both interviews and laboratory tests. In each trimester, women's blood samples were drawn, and pregnancy complications were abstracted from physician's medical records. By the end of 2011, birth outcomes/birth defects were observed/identified by clinicians within 12 months after the delivery of 11 421 singleton live births of six cities and those outcomes among the remaining 2033 live births are still being observed. In addition, 4668 children from Ma'anshan city will be further followed up during the pre-school period till they reach adolescence to obtain the data on familial environmental exposures as well as children's physical, psychological, behavioural and sexual development. The interview data and information on laboratory examinations are available on request from archives in the Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Population Health & Aristogenics.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Birth Defects; Environmental Exposures; Other Pregnancy With Abortive Outcome; Children Development
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: No intervention

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 16766

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 17 years to 49 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The China-Anhui Birth Cohort Study (C-ABCS) is a prospective population-based cohort study that recruited 16766 pregnant women from six major cities of Anhui province in China between November 2008 and October 2010. Six cities were selected for study sites, including Hefei, Ma'anshan, Wuhu, Jieshou, Lu'an and Ningguo. Anhui province is located in the south-east of China. Its socio-economic development is ranked at the mid-level in China. Six cities were selected according to their social and geographic characteristics. These cities are located in Central, Southern and Northern regions of Anhui Province and may represent socio-economic, geographic and cultural variations. In addition, strong local support was one of the important factors to consider in selecting these cities.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Having been lived in local city at least 6 months;
2. Establishing maternal card in the hospital for the first time;
3. Gestational week ≤ 16 weeks;
4. Willing to have antenatal checkups and childbirth in the hospital where they establish maternal cards.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Women who have abnormities in speaking and can not complete the survey by themselves;
2. Women with mental disorders;
3. Women who plan to leave local places.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pregnancy outcomes and birth defects	By clinical diagnosis, including abortion/premature birth/prolonged pregnancy/fetal death/stillbirth/live birth, Low birthweight/macrosomia/small for gestation age/large for gestation age, Structural birth defects and functional birth defects	Up to 12 months of age

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Children's physical development	Including body height/length, body weight, blood pressure, blood lipoid	At ages of 1.5-3 and 4.5-6 years
Psychological and behavioural development	cognition, behaviour and temperament	At ages of 1.5-3 and 4.5-6 years
Family environmental exposure	Eating patterns and parenting style.	At ages of 1.5-3 and 4.5-6 years
Mental health problems	Mental retardation, attention deficit hyperactivity, disorder, autism spectrum disorders.	At ages of 1.5-3 & 4.5-6 years
Sexual development indicators	Secondary sexual characters, Sexual hormones.	At ages of 9-15 years for boys, and 8-14 years for girls

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Fangbiao Tao

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Tao FB, Hao JH, Huang K, Su PY, Cheng DJ, Xing XY, Huang ZH, Zhang JL, Tong SL. Cohort Profile: the China-Anhui Birth Cohort Study. Int J Epidemiol. 2013 Jun;42(3):709-21. doi: 10.1093/ije/dys085. Epub 2012 Jun 21.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2008
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 1, 2010
• Study Completion (Actual): January 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 12, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 12, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): March 18, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): March 18, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 12, 2015
• Last Verified: March 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: birth defects; environmental exposures; birth cohort study; pregnant outcomes; children development
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Congenital Abnormalities
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2008020