National, longitudinal NASCITA birth cohort study to investigate the health of Italian children and potential influencing factors

Chiara Pandolfini, Antonio Clavenna, Massimo Cartabia, Rita Campi, Maurizio Bonati, NASCITA Work Group, Antonio Addis, Renata Bortolus, Annalisa Campomori, Sergio Cattani, Luca De Fiore, Federico Marchetti, Cristiana Piloni, Valeria Renzetti, Chiara Segré, Giorgio Tamburlini, Rosario Cavallo, Sergio Conti Nibali, Stefania Manetti, Gherardo Rapisardi, Giacomo Toffol, Vicenza Briscioli, Carla Cafaro, Cristoforo Cocchiara, Isodiana Crupi, Patrizia Del Balzo, Laura Dell'edera, Chiara Di Francesco, Alberto Ferrando, Francesca Grassa, Chiara Guidoni, Stefania Manetti, Claudio Mangialavori, Stefano Marinoni, Francesca Marongiu, Fausta Matera, Paolo Moretti, Laura Olimpi, Angela Pasinato, Ilaria Porro, Ippolita Roncoroni, Raffaella Schiro', Patrizia Seppia, Federica Zanetto, Anna Aloisio, Elisabetta Anedda, Giuliana Apuzzo, Giovanna Argo, Anna Armenio, Emanuela Ballerini, Monica Benedetti, Daniela Bertoli, Stefano Bollettini, Chiara Bottalico, Aurora Bottiglieri, Vincenza Briscioli, Antonella Bruno, Laura Brusadin, Mariantonietta Caiazzo, Patrizia Calamita, Miriana Callegari, Rosaria Cambria, Rossella Claudia Cannavò, Maria Cristina Cantù, Domenico Capomolla, Anna Caracciolo, Maria Concetta Carbone, Valeria Carraro, Gaetano Carrassi, Maria Laura Cartiglia, Sara Casagranda, Ornella Castiglione, Rosario Salvatore Cavallo, Teresa Cazzato, Maria Angela Cazzuffi, Melania MariaGiuseppina Cera, Jennifer Chiarolanza, Rosaria China, Nicoletta Cimadamore, Roberto Cionini, Cristina Ciuffo, Cristoforo Cocchiara, Damiano Colazzo, Sergio Conti Nibali, Anna Maria Costantini, Claudio Cravidi, Marialuisa Criscione, Isodiana Crupi, Rita D'Agostino, Daniela Danieli, Luigi De Carlo, Marina De Sanctis, Giuseppina De Santes, Patrizia Del Balzo, Gian Piero Del Bono, Chiara Di Francesco, Maria Elisabetta Di Pietro, Maria Chiara Dini, Paolo Fiammengo, Micaela Foco, Maria Teresa Fonte, Maria Frigeri, Andrea Galvagno, Matteo Gaudino, Stefania Genoni, Silvia Girotto, Emma MariaLetizia Giugnini, Gianluca Gornati, Marta Gozzi, Francesca Grassa, Chiara Guidoni, Enrica Heritier, Antonella Lavagetto, Raffaele Limauro, Alessandra Magnelli, Maria Gabriella Maiolino, Monica Malventano, Stefania Manetti, Claudio Mangialavori, Silvia Marchi, Natale Maresca, Federico Marolla, Francesca Marongiu, Agata Martinelli, Chiara Martinez, Nicoletta Mascarello, Fausta Matera, Carla Matiotti, Elisabetta Mazzucchi, Donatella Moggia, Paolo Moretti, Manuela Musetti, Paolo Nardini, Alberto Neri, Patrizia Neri, Flavia Nicoloso, Laura Maria Olimpi, Giancarlo Ottonello, Giacinta Padula, Paolo Maria Paganuzzi, Rosanna Palazzi, Alessandra Palmero, Maria Chiara Parisini, Angela Pasinato, Giovannina Pastorelli, Marilena Pavoni, Lucia Peccarisi, Antonella Pellacani, Cristina Perrera, Michela Picciotti, Ivo Picotto, Tiziana Piunti, Ilaria Porro, Francesca Preziosi, Giuseppe Primavera, Miriam Prodi, Maria Letizia Rabbone, Innocenza Rafele, Laura Reali, Franziska Stefanie Rempp, Ada Riundi, Patrizia Rogari, Ippolita Roncoroni, Paolo Rosas, Annarita Russo, Mariagrazia Saccà, Elisabetta Sala, Francesca Sala, Renato Sansone, Francesca Santus, Vittoria Sarno, Alessandra Savino, Raffaella Schirò, Giuseppa Scornavacca, Giovanni GiulianoSemprini, Maria Francesca Siracusano, Adelisa Spalla, Gloria Sturaro, Giacomo Toffol, Maria Grazia Toma, Ettore Tomagra, Maria Tortorella, Fausta Trentadue, Marina Trevisan, Silvia Tulisso, Roberta Usella, Anna Valente, Michele Valente, Mariangela Valera, Edda Vernile, Valeria Vicario, Lucia Vignutelli, Paolo Vinci, Lucia Vizziello, Rosette Zand, Marco Zanette, Federica Zanetto, Graziano Zucchi, Maria Luisa Zuccolo, Chiara Pandolfini, Antonio Clavenna, Massimo Cartabia, Rita Campi, Maurizio Bonati, NASCITA Work Group, Antonio Addis, Renata Bortolus, Annalisa Campomori, Sergio Cattani, Luca De Fiore, Federico Marchetti, Cristiana Piloni, Valeria Renzetti, Chiara Segré, Giorgio Tamburlini, Rosario Cavallo, Sergio Conti Nibali, Stefania Manetti, Gherardo Rapisardi, Giacomo Toffol, Vicenza Briscioli, Carla Cafaro, Cristoforo Cocchiara, Isodiana Crupi, Patrizia Del Balzo, Laura Dell'edera, Chiara Di Francesco, Alberto Ferrando, Francesca Grassa, Chiara Guidoni, Stefania Manetti, Claudio Mangialavori, Stefano Marinoni, Francesca Marongiu, Fausta Matera, Paolo Moretti, Laura Olimpi, Angela Pasinato, Ilaria Porro, Ippolita Roncoroni, Raffaella Schiro', Patrizia Seppia, Federica Zanetto, Anna Aloisio, Elisabetta Anedda, Giuliana Apuzzo, Giovanna Argo, Anna Armenio, Emanuela Ballerini, Monica Benedetti, Daniela Bertoli, Stefano Bollettini, Chiara Bottalico, Aurora Bottiglieri, Vincenza Briscioli, Antonella Bruno, Laura Brusadin, Mariantonietta Caiazzo, Patrizia Calamita, Miriana Callegari, Rosaria Cambria, Rossella Claudia Cannavò, Maria Cristina Cantù, Domenico Capomolla, Anna Caracciolo, Maria Concetta Carbone, Valeria Carraro, Gaetano Carrassi, Maria Laura Cartiglia, Sara Casagranda, Ornella Castiglione, Rosario Salvatore Cavallo, Teresa Cazzato, Maria Angela Cazzuffi, Melania MariaGiuseppina Cera, Jennifer Chiarolanza, Rosaria China, Nicoletta Cimadamore, Roberto Cionini, Cristina Ciuffo, Cristoforo Cocchiara, Damiano Colazzo, Sergio Conti Nibali, Anna Maria Costantini, Claudio Cravidi, Marialuisa Criscione, Isodiana Crupi, Rita D'Agostino, Daniela Danieli, Luigi De Carlo, Marina De Sanctis, Giuseppina De Santes, Patrizia Del Balzo, Gian Piero Del Bono, Chiara Di Francesco, Maria Elisabetta Di Pietro, Maria Chiara Dini, Paolo Fiammengo, Micaela Foco, Maria Teresa Fonte, Maria Frigeri, Andrea Galvagno, Matteo Gaudino, Stefania Genoni, Silvia Girotto, Emma MariaLetizia Giugnini, Gianluca Gornati, Marta Gozzi, Francesca Grassa, Chiara Guidoni, Enrica Heritier, Antonella Lavagetto, Raffaele Limauro, Alessandra Magnelli, Maria Gabriella Maiolino, Monica Malventano, Stefania Manetti, Claudio Mangialavori, Silvia Marchi, Natale Maresca, Federico Marolla, Francesca Marongiu, Agata Martinelli, Chiara Martinez, Nicoletta Mascarello, Fausta Matera, Carla Matiotti, Elisabetta Mazzucchi, Donatella Moggia, Paolo Moretti, Manuela Musetti, Paolo Nardini, Alberto Neri, Patrizia Neri, Flavia Nicoloso, Laura Maria Olimpi, Giancarlo Ottonello, Giacinta Padula, Paolo Maria Paganuzzi, Rosanna Palazzi, Alessandra Palmero, Maria Chiara Parisini, Angela Pasinato, Giovannina Pastorelli, Marilena Pavoni, Lucia Peccarisi, Antonella Pellacani, Cristina Perrera, Michela Picciotti, Ivo Picotto, Tiziana Piunti, Ilaria Porro, Francesca Preziosi, Giuseppe Primavera, Miriam Prodi, Maria Letizia Rabbone, Innocenza Rafele, Laura Reali, Franziska Stefanie Rempp, Ada Riundi, Patrizia Rogari, Ippolita Roncoroni, Paolo Rosas, Annarita Russo, Mariagrazia Saccà, Elisabetta Sala, Francesca Sala, Renato Sansone, Francesca Santus, Vittoria Sarno, Alessandra Savino, Raffaella Schirò, Giuseppa Scornavacca, Giovanni GiulianoSemprini, Maria Francesca Siracusano, Adelisa Spalla, Gloria Sturaro, Giacomo Toffol, Maria Grazia Toma, Ettore Tomagra, Maria Tortorella, Fausta Trentadue, Marina Trevisan, Silvia Tulisso, Roberta Usella, Anna Valente, Michele Valente, Mariangela Valera, Edda Vernile, Valeria Vicario, Lucia Vignutelli, Paolo Vinci, Lucia Vizziello, Rosette Zand, Marco Zanette, Federica Zanetto, Graziano Zucchi, Maria Luisa Zuccolo

Abstract

Purpose: The NASCITA Study, a national-level, population-based, prospective cohort study, was set up to better understand the early health status of Italian children, comprising their physical, cognitive and psychological development, and how it is affected by social and health determinants, including nurturing care. NASCITA will also assess geographical differences and disparities in healthcare.

Participants: Participating family paediatricians from throughout Italy enrolled infants born during the enrolment period (April 2019-July 2020). The 5054 newborns seen by the 139 paediatricians for at least two visits, including the first well-child visit, and for whom parental consent was given, make up the baseline population.

Findings to date: Mothers had a mean age at delivery of 33.0 years and tended to have a high or medium level of education (42.5% university and 41.7% high school degrees) and to be employed (69.7%). One-third (36.1%) took folic acid supplementation appropriately, and 6.5% smoked or consumed alcohol (10.0%) during pregnancy. One-third (31.7%) of deliveries were caesarean deliveries. Concerning the newborns, 5.8% had a low birth weight and 6.2% were born prematurely. The majority (87.7%) slept in the supine position, and 63.6% were exclusively breast fed at 1 month, with a decreasing north to south prevalence (χ2 t 52; p<0.001). Significant north-south differences were found in all areas, including parental education, behaviours in pregnancy and hospital practices. When compared with national level data, the cohort population's distribution, maternal sociodemographic characteristics and newborn physical characteristics reflect those of the Italian population.

Future plans: Data will continue to be collected during the well-child visits until the children are 6 years old, and multiple health outcomes will be studied, spanning child development and illness, as well as potentially related factors including caregiving routines. The findings will be used to develop specific interventions to improve children's health.

Trial registration number: NCT03894566.

Keywords: Community child health; NEONATOLOGY; PERINATOLOGY; Paediatric A&E and ambulatory care; Quality in health care.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

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