Children of the 90s ALSPAC Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

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The Avon Longitudinal Study
ALSPAC
of Parents and Children
www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac
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Why Avon?

• Defined geographical area
• Low level of outward migration
• Broadly representative of UK as a whole
• Good mixture of
• Social background
• Housing
• Urban/rural
• Enthusiastic health professionals
• Supportive teachers and employers

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Study design

• Eligibility criteria Mothers had to be resident
  in Avon and have an EDD between 01.04.1991 and
  31.12.1992
• Methods of enrolment
• Posters in public places
• Media coverage
• Approach at routine scans or in hospital after
  birth
• Community midwives
• Enrolled 14,541 pregnancies
• Following 13,801 mothers, 13,971 children

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ALSPAC Data

• Self completion questionnaires
• Health records
• Biological samples
• Environmental monitoring
• Education records
• Hands on assessments

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Building a positive relationship

• After 18 years - over 10,000 still participating
• Re-enforcing the worth of taking part, reminding
  families young people they are special
• Relationship of trust with families invaluable in
  maintaining cohort
• Involving participants in advising on study
  developments, including ethics
• Feedback research findings via newsletters and
  press

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ALSPAC FATHERS

• Not directly enrolled when mother enrolled
• Partner questionnaires sent to mother for her to
  pass on
• Asked partner DOB in early quests relationship
  to study child in later ones
• Increasingly complicated family relationships

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Age of partner at completion of FIRST
Questionnaire Average 30.65 (min15
max65)    
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Social class reported in Mums Questionnaire at
32 weeks
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Education reported in Mums Questionnaire at 32
weeks
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Questionnaires to partners
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• Why dads/partners?
• Much research internationally on mother and
  child health/wellbeing, little on fathers and
  children
• Family level effects on mens health as well as
  that of mothers and children
• Considerable volume of data collected on men
  about their health and lifestyle from average age
  30 makes this a powerful resource for studying
  modifiable factors related to health/wellbeing of
  the men in their own right

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• Study of fathers / partners allows improved
  interpretation of determinants of child outcomes
• Genetic factors can be studied in relation to
  mens own health and also to that of their
  children

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Findings

• Depression in fathers in the postnatal period is
  associated with later psychiatric disorders in
  their children, independently of maternal
  postnatal depression. (Ramchandani et al, 2008)
• Increased paternal age is associated with delayed
  conception. (Ford et al, 2000)
• Childrens social development may be enhanced by
  time alone with fathers, but boys seem to suffer
  academically from long hours of paternal care
  when they are toddlers. (Washbrook et al, 2007)

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Enrolment of Partners

• Why now after 18 years?
• Moving towards seeing each study participant as
  separate individuals
• Want to approach fathers directly for data
  collection (DNA) data linkage
• How are we doing this?
• Sending initial mailing via mother asking her to
  pass on to current partner
• If that is not biological father, asking her to
  pass info on to him too

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• Who advised ALSPAC study team in devising
  protocol?
• Fathers Focus group, ALSPAC Ethics Law
  Committee

• Need to consider complicated family relationships
• Including current partner biological father if
  not the same person

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Data Collection on Fathers

• In the next year or so
• Sample collection for DNA
• Questionnaire about own health and lifestyle
• In the next 5 years
• Hands on assessments
• Record Linkage
• Further questionnaire(s)

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Issues

• Will dads/partners take part?
• What would improve uptake?
• What discourages taking part?
• What are the key issues in mens lives that
  ALSPAC could contribute to studying?
• What are best means of contact?
• What publicity / participation campaigns would
  work?
• What other incentives could there be?