Abstract
The “Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children’s Health” is an ongoing study consisting of two prospective birth cohorts with different outcomes, periods of observation blood collection, and population sizes: the Sapporo and the Hokkaido cohorts. The aim of the study was to summarize the recent scientific results of the Hokkaido study, and to suggest future study directions. Maternal and cord blood were collected to assess for environmental and lifestyle-related chemical exposures. Health outcomes regarding birth size, child growth after birth, asthma, allergies, infectious diseases, neurodevelopment, and hormones were assessed. The results of our study suggest that the prenatal environmental and lifestyle-related chemical exposure affects birth outcome, hormone levels, allergy, infectious diseases, and neurodevelopmental processes. Furthermore, specific genotypes may influence the effects of the chemical exposure on health outcomes. Epigenomics may partly explain the biological mechanisms.
