Newborn Epigenetic STudy (NEST)
NEST is a prebirth cohort study of over 2,500 parent–offspring pairs to investigate the effects of prenatal and early childhood exposures on epigenetic and developmental outcomes. Pregnant women aged 18 years or older were identified from Duke University-affiliated prenatal clinics in Durham, North Carolina, USA, between 2005 and 2011. The women were eligible to participate if they were English- or Spanish-speaking, HIV negative, and planned to continue prenatal care in the clinics. The mothers were followed through pregnancy and upon delivery, and their children have been followed through age 11-17. When children were around 3–6 years of age, a subgroup of 203 children from 190 families in NEST participated in the Toddler’s Exposure to SVOCs in the Indoor Environment (TESIE) follow-up study to further investigate how chemical exposures in the home environment impact child development.
Study design
Cohort - birth, Cohort - primary caregiver and child
Number of participants at first data collection
2,595 (mothers)
2,681 (children)
Age at first data collection
≥ 18 years (mothers)
Birth (children)
Participant year of birth
2005 - 2011 (children)
Varied (mothers)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
2005
Primary Institutions
Duke University
Profile paper DOI
Funders
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Ongoing?
No
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 environment assessment (e.g. pollution, mould)
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Secondary data
- Self-report questionnaire – paper or computer assisted
- Wearable devices
- Self-completed questionnaire – unspecified
- None
- None
- Geographic, spatial & environmental data
- Healthcare data
- Police & judicial system data
Engagement
Keywords
Consortia and dataset groups
