Abstract
The LIFE Child study is a large population-based longitudinal childhood cohort study conducted in the city of Leipzig, Germany. As a part of LIFE, a research project conducted at the Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, it aims to monitor healthy child development from birth to adulthood and to understand the development of lifestyle diseases such as obesity. The study consists of three interrelated cohorts; the birth cohort, the health cohort, and the obesity cohort. Depending on age and cohort, the comprehensive study program comprises different medical, psychological, and sociodemographic assessments as well as the collection of biological samples. Optimal data acquisition, process management, and data analysis are guaranteed by a professional team of physicians, certified study assistants, quality managers, scientists and statisticians. Due to the high popularity of the study, more than 3000 children have already participated until the end of 2015, and two-thirds of them participate continuously. The large quantity of acquired data allows LIFE Child to gain profound knowledge on the development of children growing up in the twenty-first century. This article reports the number of available and analyzable data and demonstrates the high relevance and potential of the study.
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Funding
This publication is supported by LIFE – Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig. LIFE is funded by means of the European Union, by means of the European Social Fund (ESF), by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by means of the Free State of Saxony within the framework of the excellence initiative. The Integrated Research and Treatment Center Adiposity Diseases is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Grant 01EO1501).
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Poulain, T., Baber, R., Vogel, M. et al. The LIFE Child study: a population-based perinatal and pediatric cohort in Germany. Eur J Epidemiol 32, 145–158 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-016-0216-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-016-0216-9