Maastricht Essential Fatty Acid Birth Cohort (MEFAB)
MEFAB was established to investigate changes in fatty acid concentration during pregnancy and their effect on fatty acid concentration in newborns. The study recruited pregnant women less than 16 weeks pregnant and at their first antenatal visit in southern Limburg province in the Netherlands between 1989 and 1995. Over 1,200 pregnant women were recruited into the study, and the resulting 1,203 children were included in the study at birth. Pregnant women were followed up three times during pregnancy at 9-12 weeks, 21-23 weeks, and 31-33 weeks. All participants were followed up at the birth of the child, and at ages 4, 7, 12, and 21-23 years.
Study design
Cohort - primary caregiver and child
Number of participants at first data collection
1,203 (pregnant women)
1,203 (children)
Age at first data collection
Varied (pregnant women)
Birth (children)
Participant year of birth
Varied (pregnant women)
1989 - 1995 (children)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
1989
Primary Institutions
Maastricht University (Universiteit Maastricht, UM)
Profile paper DOI
Funders
Dutch Research Council (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, NWO)
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Activity log (e.g. food, sleep, exercise)
- Computer, paper or task testing (e.g. cognitive testing, theory of mind doll task, attention computer tasks)
- Physical environment assessment (e.g. pollution, mould)
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Secondary data
- None
- None
- Education data
- Geographic, spatial & environmental data
- Healthcare data
Engagement
Keywords
