Storage Space Needed

No, this is not a post about how my tiny apartment has almost no storage space – it’s about something pretty amazing that’s been going on in England since 1990 (http://www.nature.com/news/children-of-the-90s-coming-of-age-1.10396)

In 1990 researchers started collecting tissues and tons of information from over 14,500 pregnant women in Bristol and surrounding area. Once the babies were born, they collected samples from the babies and a lot of information over the entire course of their life to date. They know things from how often the kids were sick to when they left home to when they hit puberty. And they have samples including placentas, blood, urine, and baby teeth. The tissue library alone has more than 1 million entries! Imagine how much storage, both physical space and databases needed to house all this information.

Combined, there is a comprehensive biological and behavioural data set for each child. This data has generated over 700 scientific papers and has led to changes in health advice for pregnant women and discovery of genetic factors for fetal growth, obesity, allergies and bone density. And there is still tons of data and samples that haven’t even been analyzed yet!

The study was started by Jean Golding, who was eager to learn how events in pregnancy and infancy affect a child’s health and development. She recruited mothers by talking on the radio and television, and sending midwives to prenatal classes and doctor’s offices. Those mothers that enrolled encompassed more than 70% of those eligible in the region during that time. The mothers filled out extensive questionnaires (more than 100 pages long!) and the children have been followed since birth. They are collecting information from as many of the fathers as possible, in hopes of being able to draw links between as many things as possible.

The first children are now 21, and some have become parents. This can lead to a new generation of subjects that can expand this study even further. However, some have called into question if the cost of collecting samples, following subjects, and storing all the data is worth it? I think it is (but I’m not a British taxpayer...) It is so difficult to get even short-term follow-up data from patients to answer research questions, that I’m just amazed by all the potential data that can be found from examining this cohort. There are so many new associations between genetics, environment or disease that could be found, that it could improve so many aspects of health care, disease screening and even behavioural indicators to identify those at risk for mental illness.

As new analysis tools are developed, more data is collected, and children of the original cohort are enrolled, this undertaking will provide more and more information that could provide so many positive changes to health care!

C