title: The LIFE Child study: a population-based perinatal and pediatric cohort in Germany.
abstract: The LIFE Child study is a large population-based longitudinal childhood cohort study conducted in the city of Leipzig, Germany. As a part of LIFE, a research project conducted at the Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, it aims to monitor healthy child development from birth to adulthood and to understand the development of lifestyle diseases such as obesity. The study consists of three interrelated cohorts; the birth cohort, the health cohort, and the obesity cohort. Depending on age and cohort, the comprehensive study program comprises different medical, psychological, and sociodemographic assessments as well as the collection of biological samples. Optimal data acquisition, process management, and data analysis are guaranteed by a professional team of physicians, certified study assistants, quality managers, scientists and statisticians. Due to the high popularity of the study, more than 3000 children have already participated until the end of 2015, and two-thirds of them participate continuously. The large quantity of acquired data allows LIFE Child to gain profound knowledge on the development of children growing up in the twenty-first century. This article reports the number of available and analyzable data and demonstrates the high relevance and potential of the study.
authors.affiliation: LIFE Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. tpoulain@life.uni-leipzig.de.
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3825-5829
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Poulain
authors.affiliation: LIFE Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry, and Molecular Diagnostics (ILM), University of Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Ronny
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baber
authors.affiliation: LIFE Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.affiliation: LIFE Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pietzner
authors.affiliation: LIFE Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Toralf
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kirsten
authors.affiliation: LIFE Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jurkutat
authors.affiliation: LIFE Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Department of Women and Child Health, Hospital for Children and Adolescents and Center for Pediatric Research (CPL), University of Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 20a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hiemisch
authors.affiliation: Integrated Research and Treatment Center Adiposity Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 55, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hilbert
authors.affiliation: Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry, and Molecular Diagnostics (ILM), University of Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kratzsch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry, and Molecular Diagnostics (ILM), University of Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thiery
authors.affiliation: Section of Phoniatrics and Audiology, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 10-12, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, University of Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 12, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 10-14, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Franziska G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Rauscher
authors.affiliation: LIFE Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics, and Epidemiology, University of Leipzig, Härtelstrasse 16-18, 04107, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loeffler
authors.affiliation: LIFE Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Department of Women and Child Health, Hospital for Children and Adolescents and Center for Pediatric Research (CPL), University of Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 20a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Integrated Research and Treatment Center Adiposity Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Antje
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Körner
authors.affiliation: LIFE Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nüchter
authors.affiliation: LIFE Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Department of Women and Child Health, Hospital for Children and Adolescents and Center for Pediatric Research (CPL), University of Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 20a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Integrated Research and Treatment Center Adiposity Diseases, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Wieland
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kiess
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Children; Cohort study; Epidemiology; Longitudinal study; Obesity; Pregnancy