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The Early Determinants of Adult Health Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2011

E. Susser ,
S. Buka ,
C. A. Schaefer ,
H. Andrews ,
P. M. Cirillo ,
P. Factor-Litvak ,
M. Gillman ,
J. M. Goldstein ,
P. Ivey Henry  and
L. H. Lumey
...Show all authors
E. Susser*
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA The Imprints Center for Genetic and Environmental Life Course Studies, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA
S. Buka
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
C. A. Schaefer
Affiliation:
Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Oakland, CA, USA
H. Andrews
Affiliation:
Data Coordinating Center, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Department of Biostatistics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
P. M. Cirillo
Affiliation:
The Center for Research on Women and Children's Health, The Child Health and Development Studies, Public Health Institute, Berkeley, CA, USA
P. Factor-Litvak
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA The Imprints Center for Genetic and Environmental Life Course Studies, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA
M. Gillman
Affiliation:
Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA
J. M. Goldstein
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, Connors Center for Women's Health & Gender Biology, Division of Women's Health, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Department of Psychiatry, Division of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
P. Ivey Henry
Affiliation:
Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
L. H. Lumey
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA The Imprints Center for Genetic and Environmental Life Course Studies, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA
I. W. McKeague
Affiliation:
The Imprints Center for Genetic and Environmental Life Course Studies, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA Department of Biostatistics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
K. B. Michels
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology Epidemiology Center, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA Division of Cancer Epidemiology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Freiburg, Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany
M. B. Terry
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA The Imprints Center for Genetic and Environmental Life Course Studies, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA
B. A. Cohn
Affiliation:
The Center for Research on Women and Children's Health, The Child Health and Development Studies, Public Health Institute, Berkeley, CA, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr E. Susser, Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, office 1030, New York, NY 10032, USA.(Email ess8@columbia.edu)
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Abstract

This issue of the Journal features collaborative follow-up studies of two unique pregnancy cohorts recruited during 1959–1966 in the United States. Here we introduce the Early Determinants of Adult Health (EDAH) study. EDAH was designed to compare health outcomes in midlife (age 40s) for same-sex siblings discordant on birthweight for gestational age. A sufficient sample of discordant siblings could only be obtained by combining these two cohorts in a single follow-up study. All of the subsequent six papers are either based upon the EDAH sample or are related to it in various ways. For example, three papers report results from studies that significantly extended the ‘core’ EDAH sample to address specific questions.

We first present the overall design of and rationale for the EDAH study. Then we offer a synopsis of past work with the two cohorts to provide a context for both EDAH and the related studies. Next, we describe the recruitment and assessment procedures for the core EDAH sample. This includes the process of sampling and recruitment of potential participants; a comparison of those who were assessed and not assessed based on archived data; the methods used in the adult follow-up assessment; and the characteristics at follow-up of those who were assessed. We provide online supplementary tables with much further detail. Finally, we note further work in progress on EDAH and related studies, and draw attention to the broader implications of this endeavor.

Keywords

early determinants of adult healthEDAHpregnancy cohortssibling pairs
Type
Review
Information
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease , Volume 2 , Special Issue 6: The Early Determinants of Adult Health Study , December 2011 , pp. 311 - 321
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2011

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Footnotes

†

E. Susser and S. Buka are joint first authors.

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