LIFE Child Study
The LIFE Child study is a longitudinal cohort study conducted in Leipzig, Germany. Its purpose is to monitor child development and investigate factors associated with health and disease, with a particular focus on lifestyle diseases such as overweight and allergies. The LIFE Child study started in 2011 and consists of three interrelated cohorts; the birth cohort, the health cohort, and the obesity cohort. Participants are recruited using advertisements at clinics, schools, and health institutions. Follow-up visits take place annually. Depending on the cohort (birth cohort, health cohort, or obesity cohort) and age, children and parents pass slightly different study programs. These programs take between 2 and 6 hours and comprise interviews, medical examinations, standardized tests, questionnaires, and the collection of biological samples.
Study design
Cohort - open, Cohort - birth, Cohort - primary caregiver and child, Biobank
Number of participants at first data collection
520 (mothers by 2015)
300 (children from obese cohort as of 2015)
2,900 (children from health cohort as of 2015)
160 (children from birth cohort as of 2015)
Age at first data collection
Varied (mothers)
Birth (birth cohort)
1 - 16 years (health cohort)
6 - 20 years (obese cohort)
Participant year of birth
Varied (mothers)
Varied (birth cohort)
Varied (health cohort)
Varied (obese cohort)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
2011
Primary Institutions
University of Leipzig (Universität Leipzig)
Profile paper DOI
Funders
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
European Social Fund
European Union (EU)
Free State of Saxony
University of Leipzig
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Audio or visual recordings (e.g. of child behaviour, facial expressions)
- Interview – face-to-face
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Self-report questionnaire – unspecified
- None
- None
- None
Engagement
Keywords
