An Overview Of The ALSPAC Data Resource ALSPAC Social Science User Group Workshop Wednesday 21st May

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An Overview Of TheALSPAC Data ResourceALSPAC
Social Science User Group WorkshopWednesday
21st May 2008

• David Herrick
• david.herrick_at_bristol.ac.uk

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What is ALSPAC?

• Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
• Cohort study of children and their parents, based
  in the former county of Avon (excluding Bath)
• Designed to determine ways in which the
  individuals genotype combines with environmental
  pressures to influence health and development

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Study design

• Eligibility criteria Mothers had to be resident
  in Avon and have an expected date of delivery
  between 1st April 1991 and 31st December 1992
• Avon was broadly representative of the UK as a
  whole and has a relatively stable population
• Core sample of 14,541 pregnancies resulting in
  14,062 live born children

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Data Sources

• Self Completion Questionnaires
• Hands on Assessments
• Biological Samples
• DNA
• Direct School Contact
• Health Records
• Linked Datasets
• Sub Studies

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Self completion questionnaires (1)

• Carer (17, 4 during pregnancy)
• Mothers health, home environment, income,
  education, employment etc.
• Partner (15, 2 during pregnancy)
• Child-based, completed by main carer (22)
• Childs health, development, behaviour, diet etc.
• Child-completed (22)
• Teeth, school, home, hobbies, substance use,
  mental health etc.
• Annual puberty questionnaires (9)
• Tanner staging, menarchy

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Self completion questionnaires (2)

• Miscarriages
• Adult Learning (Carer Partner)
• Single mail shot follow up telephone interview
• DCSF Year 11 (Carer Child)
• Education - attitudes aspirations
• Friendships (Child)
• Single mail shot aim to identify which other
  study children child is friends with

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Hands on assessments (1)

• Children in Focus
• 10 sample seen 10 times between 4 61 months
• 1432 attended at least 1, 1000 at least 8, 539
  all 10
• Physical measures Anthropometry, blood
  pressure, lung function, skin, hair eye
  observations, allergy testing, vision, hearing,
  dental
• Cognitive measures habituation, memory, speech
• Environmental measures diet, pollution,
  parenting, day care
• Blood samples

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Hands on assessments (2)

• Focus Sessions
• Annual assessments, starting with Focus_at_7, to
  which the whole cohort is invited
• Physical Measures, bone density, fitness,
  vision, hearing, allergies, blood / saliva
  samples, vascular function, lung function, acne
• Cognitive / behavioural IQ, speech language,
  bullying, antisocial activities, friends,
  substance use, romantic relations, psychosis,
  depression

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Biological samples

• Maternal blood urine
• Paternal blood saliva
• Umbilical cord blood slices
• Placentas
• Childrens teeth, hair and nail clippings
• Childrens blood, saliva urine

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DNA

• DNA for
• 10,000 children
• 10,000 mothers
• 1,000 partners
• 6700 mother/child pairs
• 700 trios
• Blood for cell lines for
• 7,000 children
• 5,700 mothers
• 1,400 fathers

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ALSPAC at School
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Direct School Contact (1)

• Contact with 350 primary schools in the four
  local LEAs
• Bristol
• South Gloucestershire
• North Somerset
• Bath and North East Somerset
• Private special schools included
• Parental contact for out of area cases

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Direct School Contact (2)

• Questionnaires in Year 3 Year 6
• School (Head teacher)
• Class (Class teacher)
• Child (Class teacher)
• Maths test in Year 4
• Maths, Spelling Science tests in Year 6
• Year 6 maths test repeated in Year 8

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Health Records

• Delivery notes
• Abstracted by midwives
• 8300 in full
• 2300 shortened version
• 2000 further planned
• Convulsions (n ? 400)
• Hospital admissions
• Selected from questionnaire responses
• Special Care Baby Unit (n ? 1000)

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Sub Studies (1)

• Avon Brothers and Sisters Study
• Becoming a Teenager
• Before Breakfast Study
• Being 3
• British Gas Study
• Bunk Bed Study
• DATE (diet and physical activity study)
• Deuterium
• Family Study
• Four Seasons (physical activity calibration study)

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Sub Studies (2)

• Fractures
• Identifying Developmental Impairments
• K4 (physical activity calibration study)
• Lightbox (as an alternative to anthropometery)
• Noise Study
• Peanut Other Allergies
• Scan and Swim
• Teenager at Thirteen
• Twins Secret Language

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Response Figures
Jan 2002
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Documentation

• Indexed collection of PDF documents provided on
  CD ROM
• Provides frequencies lookup for unique variable
  names