1. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC): Children of the 90s
Study Description

2. KEY FEATURES
Population based
Geographically defined
Recruited during pregnancy
Detailed follow-up, including hands-on measures
Linked biological samples

3. All pregnant women resident in Avon
Expected date of delivery
Recruited through antenatal clinics

4. RECRUITMENT
14,541 pregnancies (14,472 outcome known)
14,676 fetuses  14,062 live births
13,988 children alive at 1 year
542 children added at age 7 years
10% sample (Children in Focus) attended clinics 4 months - 5 years (n = 1,432)

5. ALSPAC
Avon
Rest of UK
Owner-occupier
79.1
68.7
63.4
1+ person per room
33.5
26.0
30.8
Car in household
90.8
83.7
75.6
Married couple
79.4
71.7
71.8
Non-white mother
2.2
4.1
7.6

6. Cohort retention Age of child (months) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
80%
90%
100%
-10 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Age of child (months)

7. 4 questionnaires to mother in pregnancy
DATA - QUESTIONNAIRES
Questionnaires to:
Mother about herself
Mother’s partner
Mother about Child
4 questionnaires to mother in pregnancy
6 months after birth and annual thereafter

8. DATA – HANDS-ON
Children in Focus – 4m-5y
Whole cohort – Annual clinics 7-15 years
Current status – 17 year clinic running
Multifaceted study of health, development and disease of children

9. Measures based on scientific priority (& cost)
FOCUS AT 7
Eight sessions of 20 min
Total clinic 2h 40min
Measures based on scientific priority (& cost)
17+ clinic c.£3m
M: Measures session
A: Allergy session
W: Word session
C: Coordination session
B1: First blood session
B2: Second blood session
V: Vision session
H: Hearing session

10. Blood (most <5 y gone); later fasting blood for metabolic studies
BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES
DNA maternal, cord & 7y venous blood; transformed cell lines in progress
DNA 10,000 mothers and children
C. 1,000 partners
Aim for 6,000 trios at end of current programme
Blood (most <5 y gone); later fasting blood for metabolic studies
Placentae, hair, teeth, urine 8y and 15y)

11. ENVIRONMENT
Mostly questionnaire based; but dating back to pregnancy
Some small validation studies (NO2, salivary cortisols, etc.)
Modelling pollution exposures
Strengths: Diet (FFQ & diaries); Smoking; Pollution; Activity and body mass (accelerometers & DXA 9, 11, 13 years)

12. ASTHMA & ALLERGY
Questionnaire data on wheezing, asthma, eczema & hay fever from 6m-17y
Skin exam for 5y (CiF) & 7y
SPTs and total serum 7y
Spiro & BR 8y
Spiro & FeNO & BD 15y

13. GWAS – CURRENT STATUS
1,400 samples Illumina 317k (WTCCC)
1,250 asthma case:control Illumina 610k (GABRIEL II)
Expect asthma candidates on c.7,000 (GABRIEL Phase III)
Applying for genome wide typing of whole cohort (?????)