Born into Life – a longitudinal study before, during and in the first years of life

The purpose of Born into Life (the Pregnancy Study and the Birth Cohort) is to investigate how conditions before pregnancy, during fetal life and the first years of life affect growth and health later in life. By collecting information about genetic predispositions, environmental exposures and lifestyles, unique opportunities are provided to shed light on risk factors for diseases as a basis for preventive measures.

Background

The study participants in the Pregnancy Study were recruited from participants in the LifeGene study who became pregnant. The women were examined on two occasions during pregnancy (questionnaires, saliva, blood and stool samples) and in connection with childbirth. Some of the study participants in the Pregnancy Study also had partners who participated in the LifeGene study. Their children were then recruited into the Birth Cohort, and examined (questionnaires, height and weight, blood sampling, stool and saliva) at 6, 12 and 24 months of age and at 5-6 years of follow-up when lung function testing was also performed. Please read our cohort description of Born-into-Life and see flowchart below on occasions and biosamples collected.

We have now examined 107 women and their children with repeated measurements before, during and after pregnancy. We have also completed the data collection for the 5-6 year follow-up, and data is processed and samples are analyzed.

Why research related to pregnancy?

We know that conditions before, during fetal life and in the first years of life affect growth, ill health and diseases later in life. Previous research studies have shown that factors in both heredity and the environment are involved in the reason why some children and young people develop, for example, asthma and allergies. However, it is still not clear how these factors interact at an early stage.

Collaboration

We welcome researchers to new and innovative collaborations on research issues using data from the Born-into-Life cohort.

Flowchart of the study

Contact

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Catarina Almqvist Malmros

Professor/Senior Physician
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Anna Hedman

Senior Research Specialist;Lecturer

Publications

Limited association between markers of stress during pregnancy and fetal growth in 'Born into Life', a new prospective birth cohort.
Smew AI, Hedman AM, Chiesa F, Ullemar V, Andolf E, Pershagen G, et al
Acta Paediatr. 2018 Jun;107(6):1003-1010

Allergen-specific IgE over time in women before, during and after pregnancy.
Hedman AM, Lundholm C, Scheynius A, Alm J, Andolf E, Pershagen G, et al
Allergy 2019 Mar;74(3):625-628

Normal values for calprotectin in stool samples of infants from the population-based longitudinal born into life study.
Peura S, Fall T, Almqvist C, Andolf E, Hedman A, Pershagen G, et al
Scand. J. Clin. Lab. Invest. ;78(1-2):120-124

DNA Methylation Trajectories During Pregnancy.
Gruzieva O, Merid SK, Chen S, Mukherjee N, Hedman AM, Almqvist C, et al
Epigenet Insights 2019 ;12():2516865719867090

Association of Maternal DNA Methylation and Offspring Birthweight.
Kheirkhah Rahimabad P, Arshad SH, Holloway JW, Mukherjee N, Hedman A, Gruzieva O, et al
Reprod Sci 2020 Aug;():

Paternal DNA Methylation May Be Associated With Gestational Age at Birth.
Luo R, Mukherjee N, Chen S, Jiang Y, Arshad SH, Holloway JW, et al
Epigenet Insights 2020 ;13():2516865720930701

DNA methylation differences at birth after conception through ART.
Tobi EW, Almqvist C, Hedman A, Andolf E, Holte J, Olofsson JI, et al
Hum Reprod 2020 Nov;():

Oral Microbiota Development in Early Childhood.
Kennedy B, Peura S, Hammar U, Vicenzi S, Hedman A, Almqvist C, et al
Sci Rep 2019 12;9(1):19025

Reference Intervals for Fecal Calprotectin in Pregnant Women Using a Particle Enhanced Turbidimetric Assay.
Fall T, Hedman A, Pershagen G, Andolf E, Almqvist C, Helmersson-Karlqvist J, et al
Clin Lab 2019 Jul;65(7):

Longitudinal plasma inflammatory proteome profiling during pregnancy in the Born into Life study.
Hedman AM, Lundholm C, Andolf E, Pershagen G, Fall T, Almqvist C
Sci Rep 2020 10;10(1):17819

Antibodies against Phosphorylcholine and Malondialdehyde during the First Two Years of Life.
Thiagarajan D, Lundström SL, Pershagen G, Almqvist Malmros C, Andolf E, Hedman A, et al
J Immunol 2020 Oct;205(8):2109-2116

CA
Content reviewer:
11-01-2024