Baby Biome Study (BBS)
The BBS is a large-scale birth cohort study and biobank conducted in the United Kingdom (UK), with longitudinal follow-up through electronic health data linkage. The study aims to understand how the gut microbiome in very early life may influence a baby's immune system and their health and wellbeing later in life. BBS enrolled nearly 3,500 mother-baby pairs in three UK hospitals between 2016 and 2017. Clinical information on study participants was collected at delivery and stool samples from mothers and new-born babies were collected at 4, 7 and 21 days of life from 1,151 babies. The Respiratory Health in Childhood (RHIO) is the follow-up study of children enrolled in BBS to understand their respiratory health in the first 4 to 6 years of life, and to explore whether early gut microbiota composition is associated with childhood respiratory diseases.
Study design
Cohort - primary caregiver and child, Cohort - birth
Number of participants at first data collection
3,476 (mother-child pairs)
Recruitment is ongoing
Age at first data collection
Varied (mothers)
Birth (children)
Participant year of birth
Varied (mothers)
2016 (children)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Countries
Year of first data collection
2016
Primary Institutions
University College London (UCL)
Links
ucl.ac.uk/global-health/research/a-z/baby-biome-study
parentingsciencegang.org.uk/category/groups/baby-biome-cohort-study/
Profile paper DOI
Funders
Wellcome Trust
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Self-report questionnaire – online
- Self-report questionnaire – paper or computer assisted
- None
- None
- Healthcare data
- Medical birth registry
Engagement
Keywords
