National Children's Study Releases Study Plan and Locations (November 2004)

November 16, 2004

The National Children's Study enters the implementation phase today with the release of a Study Plan, outlining objectives, methodologies, and measures related to the first years of the 21-year Study; the announcement of the locations across the United States where the Study will be conducted; and the posting of requests for proposals for institutions to manage initial Study sites and for a coordinating center.

The Study, led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—through the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—and by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has designated 96 locations across the United States where it will recruit and enroll eligible participants, and track them over 21 years. Together the children from these 96 locations will represent the face of all of America's children.

"We are now beginning the National Children's Study, the most ambitious attempt ever undertaken to understand the role that the environment plays in children's health," said Duane Alexander, MD, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. "We look to the National Children's Study to provide important information that will safeguard the health of our children and the adults they will become."

The ability to examine multiple exposures and link them in cause-effect relationships with multiple outcomes is the defining characteristic of the National Children's Study. The Study will examine many aspects of children's lives, from family genetics; to the constructed world of neighborhoods and schools; to chemical exposures linked to the atmosphere, food, or water supplies; to the social and behavioral environment in which the children grow and develop.

"From the water we drink and the air we breathe to the foods we eat, it is important to know how environmental factors impact the health of our children. Only a study of this size and scope holds the promise of shaping the care of children for the next century," said Paul Gilman, PhD, assistant administrator, Research and Development, EPA.

The Study Plan is an outline of the sampling methodology, participation requirements, and type and scope of data collection for the first few years of the Study. Although the Study is hypothesis-driven, no single hypothesis fulfills the goals of the study. There are a number of hypotheses described in the Study Plan that are designed to address several priority health outcome themes: outcomes of pregnancy, child growth and development, injury, asthma, and psychological and emotional health.

"The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and its member pediatricians believe the National Children's Study will yield valuable information," said AAP President Carol Berkowitz, MD, FAAP. "It will ultimately enable us to learn much more about, and further improve, the care we give to our patients."

Successful implementation in each of the 96 Study locations will depend on the input and support of entire communities. The Study will seek the collaboration of researchers, governmental and health officials, social service agencies, schools, churches, and community organizations. Local efforts in each community will emphasize community partnerships and collaboration, from planning, to recruitment, to retaining participation throughout the length of the Study.