Critical assessment of the research outcomes of European birth cohorts: linking environmental factors with non-communicable diseases

Abstract Objectives The objective of this review paper was to stimulate collaborative discussions toward the development of a general concept of an open source protocol for a feasible and efficient longitudinal birth cohort study exploring non-communicable diseases (NCDs), their multifactorial etiol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public health (London) 2017-04, Vol.145, p.136-145
Main Authors: Piler, P, Kandrnal, V, Bláha, L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Antenatal
Biological properties
Biological samples
Child
Childbirth & labor
Children
Citations
Cohort analysis
Cohort Studies
Conceptual development
Databases, Factual
Design factors
Diseases
Environmental aspects
Environmental Exposure
Environmental factors
Etiology
Europe
European birth cohorts
European Continental Ancestry Group
Feasibility studies
Health risk assessment
Health risks
Humans
Impact factors
Infant, Newborn
Infectious Disease
Infectious diseases
Internal Medicine
Longitudinal Studies
Non-communicable diseases
Research outcomes
Risk analysis
Risk assessment
Risk Factors
Scientific papers
Study design
Systematic review
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Items that cite this one
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Summary:Abstract Objectives The objective of this review paper was to stimulate collaborative discussions toward the development of a general concept of an open source protocol for a feasible and efficient longitudinal birth cohort study exploring non-communicable diseases (NCDs), their multifactorial etiology and relations between various risk factors. Study design The present paper systematically reviews the design of existing birth cohorts in Europe containing environmental exposure data, and assesses a quantity and quality of their research outcomes as their potential to be an effective tool for studying non-communicable diseases and their risk factors. Methods European birth cohorts with more than 3000 participants have been included in the study. A total number of scientific papers published in the internationally recognized journals and their impact factors and citation records were evaluated for all cohorts as surrogates for their efficiency to contribute to NCDs understanding and thus their prevention. Results The birth cohorts contributing most significantly to the NCD understanding shared common features: (i) study size between 10,000 and 15,000 mother–child pairs; (ii) repeated assessment of children from prenatal into adulthood; and (iii) availability of biological samples. Smaller cohorts and cohorts with a specific focus generated a lower number of publications; however, these often received considerably a higher number of citations. Conclusions General cohort studies with 10,000–15,000 mother–child pairs allow a broader context interpretation, publish a higher number of articles, and often lead to the formation of infrastructures for ‘spin-off (nested) studies’.
ISSN:0033-3506
1476-5616
DOI:10.1016/j.puhe.2016.12.037