Article Text
Abstract
Purpose The Vitamin D in Pregnancy Study is a long-term ongoing cohort study. It was conceived to explore relationships between maternal vitamin D status in pregnancy and offspring growth and development, and has since diversified to include a wide range of physical and mental health exposures and outcomes.
Participants Recruitment was from the University Hospital Geelong (Barwon Health) antenatal clinic, Geelong, Victoria, Australia, between 2002 and 2004. 475 women were initially recruited, which resulted in 400 eligible mother–child pairs at birth.
Findings to date The cohort has been followed up twice in pregnancy, at birth, and 1 year, 6 years and 11 years post birth. The study has reported an association between vitamin D in pregnancy and musculoskeletal health and body composition in the children.
Future plans Subject to funding, there will be a prospective young adult follow-up. This profile aims to foster both cross-national and international collaborations with both existing and future data collection.
- vitamin D
- bone
- developmental Origins
- paediatric
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Footnotes
Twitter @Brennan_Olsen
Contributors NKH wrote the initial draft of the manuscript and performed all descriptive statistics. SLB-O provided initial edits to first and subsequent drafts and provided critical feedback on the structure and content. JDW was involved with the inception of the cohort and initiation of the 11-year follow-up, and provided critical feedback on intellectual content of the manuscript. SMH provided information about health literacy and provided critical feedback on intellectual content of the manuscript. PJV led and provided information about the 5-year follow-up and provided critical feedback on the content and structure. LJW provided information about psychiatric measures and provided critical feedback on the content and structure. JAP was involved in the inception of the initial cohort and initiation of 11-year follow-up, provided initial edits to first and subsequent drafts and provided critical feedback on the structure and content.
Funding This project has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia), Bupa Health Foundation, the The Child Health and Research Unit (Barwon Health) and Innovation in Mental Health and Physical Health and Clinical Treatment Strategic Research Centre (Deakin University). NKH and SMH are supported by Dean’s Research Postdoctoral Fellowships, and SLB-O and LJW are supported by NHMRC Career Development Fellowships (1107510 and 1064272, respectively). LJW is also supported by a NHMRC Investigator grant (1174060).
Competing interests JDW declares that he received in-kind support from Swisse Wellness for an unrelated study of vitamin D in young women.
Patient consent for publication Not required.
Ethics approval Informed consent was obtained at all follow-up phases of the study by the mother on behalf of herself and her child. In addition, optional assent was provided by the child at 11 years. Copies of relevant approved documentation are available to potential collaborators on reasonable request. All follow-up phases have been approved by the Barwon Health Research Ethics Committee (01/43).
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Data availability statement Data are available upon reasonable request. Data are archived by the Epi-Centre for Healthy Ageing, Deakin University and Barwon Health, located at University Hospital Geelong (Barwon Health). Collaborations are encouraged and deidentified data requests can be sent to the principle investigator Julie Pasco (juliep@barwonhealth.org.au). Access to data will be overseen by the Vitamin D in Pregnancy Study team and subject to approval from the relevant ethics committees.