Factors Affecting Newborn Body Composition and Later Health in Helsinki Birth Cohort 2018-2022 (HeBiCo)

Effects of Various Parental and Gestational Factors on Offspring Body Composition and Health in Later Life in Helsinki Birth Cohort 2018-2022

In Helsinki Birth Cohort 2018-2022 a large, longitudinal and well-phenotyped birth cohort of infants and their parents will be established. Mothers, fathers/spouses and their children in Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District are recruited in the study and newborn composition of the children born in Helsinki Women's Hospital will be measured. Data on maternal and paternal diet quality, physical activity and depression during and after pregnancy will be collected and data from the hospital and national registers will be collected. Health of offspring and parents will be followed during their later life.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Pregnancy Related; Obesity, Childhood; Child Development; Lifestyle; Offspring, Adult

Detailed Description

Helsinki Birth Cohort 2018-2022 (HeBiCo) study is designed to find evidence between various intrauterine exposures and offspring adiposity and later health. It will be examined how different maternal (e.g. chronic diseases, ethnicity, BMI), and obstetric factors (e.g. gestational weight gain, diagnoses during pregnancy) as well as parental lifestyle and psychological aspects (e.g. diet quality, physical activity, depression and anxiety) are associated with newborn body composition and later health (e.g. obesity and neurocognitive health).

In the first phase of the study the participants are recruited on postnatal ward after delivery. The umbilical cord blood sample will be collected of all the neonates. After a consent the participants fill in the digital background, food frequency, depression and physical activity questionnaires. If the parents do not give their consent, the umbilical cord blood sample will be destroyed. Body composition of offspring will be assessed within 72 hours after birth. Registry data will be collected.

The second phase of the HeBiCo study is based on the HUS WomensHub treatment path and/or Apotti platform. The second phase of the HeBiCo constitutes of the mother-child pairs (and fathers/spouses) whose pregnancy can be followed from the early pregnancy to the end of the pregnancy through treatment path. Body composition of offspring born in Helsinki Women's Hospital will be assessed within 72 hours after birth.

The future studies will include 1) the intervention studies with digital service concept through WomensHub platform, and 2) the follow-up studies of offspring and parents in later life (to establish e.g. growth trajectories and later metabolic health of offspring).

The first phase of the HeBiCo study was registered 3/2018.

The second phase will be registered now.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 1000

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Finland
  • Helsinki, Finland, 00029
    • HUS Women's hospital, Helsinki Unversity Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The first phase of the Helsinki Birth Cohort (HeBiCo) will be constituted of all the neonates whose body composition at birth can be obtained at Helsinki Women's Hospital, and whose mothers and fathers/spouses fill out the questionnaires after delivery (background, food frequency (FFQ), and depression questionnaires (EPDS, CES-D)).

In the second phase of HeBiCo, participants will be recruited any time during pregnancy and also at postnatal ward after delivery.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Mothers, fathers/spouses and offspring in Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District.

Exclusion Criteria:

Inability to communicate in Finnish language

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Cohort
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Neonatal body fat %	Measured with PEA POD Cosmed® Infant Body Composition Assessment system	Within 72 hours of birth

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Newborn weight	Birth weight in kilograms	Within 2 hours of birth
Newborn height	Birth height in meters	Within 2 hours of birth
ASQ-3	Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3	3 months, 1 year and 2 years of age
ITSEA	Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment	3 months, 1 year and 2 years of age

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Helsinki University Central Hospital
• Collaborators: University of Helsinki; Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare; UKK Institute
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Saila SB Koivusalo, Helsinki University Hospital, Women's Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 1, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2022
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 3, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 4, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): December 5, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 10, 2025
• Last Verified: March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nutrition Disorders; Overnutrition; Body Weight; Overweight; Obesity; Pediatric Obesity
• Other Study ID Numbers: HUS/180/2018, HUS/512/2019

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