Polish mother and child cohort study--defining the problem, the aim of the study and methodological assumption.
OBJECTIVE
Exposures during prenatal period have implications for pregnancy outcome as well as for children's health, morbidity and mortality. Prospective cohort study design allows for the identification of exposures that may influence pregnancy outcome and children's health, verification of such exposures by biomarker measurements and notification of any changes in exposure level.


METHODS
Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study (REPRO_PL) is multicenter prospective cohort study conducted in 8 different regions of Poland. The final cohort is intended to comprise 1300 mother-child pairs to be recruited within 4-year period (2007-2011). The recruitment and all scheduled visits are conducted in maternity units or clinics in the districts included in the study. The women are followed-up 3 times in pregnancy (once in each trimester) and after delivery for the notification of pregnancy outcome. During each visit, detailed questionnaire and biological samples are collected including saliva, urine, hair, maternal blood and cord blood. About 6 weeks postpartum, breast milk from part of the women is collected. The study concentrates on the identification and evaluation of the effects of prenatal environmental exposure on pregnancy outcome and children's health. Specific research hypotheses refer to the role of heavy metals, exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in the aetiology of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and preterm delivery (PD). The role of oxidative stress putative mechanism and pregnant women nutritional status will be investigated. Based on questionnaire data, the impact of occupational exposures and stressful situations will be evaluated.


RESULTS
The results of the study will become available within the next few years and will help to determine levels of child prenatal exposure in several areas of Poland and its impact on course and outcome of pregnancy.
Polańska
Kinga
K
Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland. kinga@imp.lodz.pl
Hanke
Wojciech
W
Gromadzińska
Jolanta
J
Ligocka
Danuta
D
Gulczyńska
Ewa
E
Sobala
Wojciech
W
Wásowicz
Wojciech
W
D000328:Adult; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry; D009035:Mothers; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011044:Poland; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012107:Research Design; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016482:Urinalysis