Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS)
The CHDS aims to investigate how health and disease are passed on between generations. Between 1959 and 1966, over 15,000 pregnant women who were members of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan in California were recruited. Data was collected from mothers during pregnancy, and the CHDS has continued to follow these mothers and their offspring over multiple time points across development. Data collection is ongoing, and data is currently being collected from a third generation of participants (CHDS grandchildren). The CHDS is involved in a variety of sub-projects.
Study design
Cohort - intergenerational
Number of participants at first data collection
15,528 (pregnant women)
19,044 (babies)
Recruitment is ongoing
Age at first data collection
Varied (pregnant women)
Birth (babies)
Participant year of birth
Varied (pregnant women)
1959 - 1967 (babies)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
1959
Primary Institutions
Public Health Institute (PHI)
Profile paper DOI
Funders
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
Department of Defense (DoD)
Department of the Army
Escher Fund for Autism
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Computer, paper or task testing (e.g. cognitive testing, theory of mind doll task, attention computer tasks)
- Interview – face-to-face
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Secondary data
- Self-report questionnaire – paper or computer assisted
- Interviews or focus groups
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Healthcare data
- Medical birth registry
- Mortality data
- Other government data
Engagement
Keywords
