All Our Babies Cohort Study: recruitment of a cohort to predict women at risk of preterm birth through the examination of gene expression profiles and the environment

Abstract

BackgroundPreterm birth is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Risk factors for preterm birth include a personal or familial history of preterm delivery, ethnicity and low socioeconomic status yet the ability to predict preterm delivery before the onset of preterm labour evades clinical practice. Evidence suggests that genetics may play a role in the multi-factorial pathophysiology of preterm birth. The All Our Babies Study is an on-going community based longitudinal cohort study that was designed to establish a cohort of women to investigate how a women's genetics and environment contribute to the pathophysiology of preterm birth. Specifically this study will examine the predictive potential of maternal leukocytes for predicting preterm birth in non-labouring women through the examination of gene expression profiles and gene-environment interactions.Methods/DesignCollaborations have been established between clinical lab services, the provincial health service provider and researchers to create an interdisciplinary study design for the All Our Babies Study. A birth cohort of 2000 women has been established to address this research question. Women provide informed consent for blood sample collection, linkage to medical records and complete questionnaires related to prenatal health, service utilization, social support, emotional and physical health, demographics, and breast and infant feeding. Maternal blood samples are collected in PAXgene™ RNA tubes between 18-22 and 28-32 weeks gestation for transcriptomic analyses.DiscussionThe All Our Babies Study is an example of how investment in clinical-academic-community partnerships can improve research efficiency and accelerate the recruitment and data collection phases of a study. Establishing these partnerships during the study design phase and maintaining these relationships through the duration of the study provides the unique opportunity to investigate the multi-causal factors of preterm birth. The overall All Our Babies Study results can potentially lead to healthier pregnancies, mothers, infants and children.

Influence of interpersonal violence on maternal anxiety, depression, stress and parenting morale in the early postpartum: a community based pregnancy cohort study

“…The AOB cohort is well-educated and has above-average affluence, and is comparable to the target population of women who plan to become pregnant and parent in Canada [55,56]. Women who experienced interpersonal violence were more likely to have lower socioeconomic status, single, Caucasian, and Canadian born, compared to women with no reported experiences of interpersonal violence.…”

From prenatal genomic diagnosis to fetal personalized medicine: progress and challenges

“…The All Our Babies Cohort Study 103 , currently enrolling subjects in Alberta, Canada, is taking a fetal personalized medicine approach to understanding preterm birth by prospectively collecting maternal blood RNA and examining environmental factors. All of these investigations use comparative microarray analyses to identify new biomarkers and potential avenues for intervention.…”

Longitudinal follow-up of the relationship between dietary intake and growth and development in the Lifeways cross-generation cohort study 2001–2013

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