Abstract
Health status is affected by not only genetic and environmental factors but also the intrauterine environment. This is the so- called Barker’s hypothesis, which is also known as the fetal origins of adult disease hypothesis. A birth cohort study is one of epidemiological methods to determine whether this hypothesis is true.
We are involved not only in the Koshu Project, a regional birth cohort study that has been underway for 24 years, but also in the study titled “Japan Children’s Study,” which is a part of the “Brain- Science and Society” research and development program initiated by the JST RISTEX and the “Eco & Child Study,” which is nickname of the Ministry of the Environment’s Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS). On the basis of this experience, we will elaborate on the significance of combination of birth cohort studies and neuroscience research.
Several issues face birth cohort studies. First, because the subjects are children in the developmental stages. Second, measuring the sentinel health events that constitute neuroscience- related outcomes requires the development of methods that enable longitudinal measurements in a repeated fashion similar to measurement of height. Third, ethical problems are a major issue facing birth cohort studies.
