B3261 - Genetic and epigenetic approaches to identify factors influencing paternal participation in birth cohort studies - 19/02/2019

B number: 
B3261
Principal applicant name: 
Gemma Sharp | MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (United Kingdom)
Co-applicants: 
Dr Rebecca Richmond
Title of project: 
Genetic and epigenetic approaches to identify factors influencing paternal participation in birth cohort studies
Proposal summary: 

Paternal participation in cohort studies is lower than maternal
The mother is often considered the “gatekeeper” to paternal involvement
This can introduce selection bias that can make maternal effects appear relatively stronger than paternal effects
For example, a previous study found that paternal participation was lower for mothers from low SEP, ethnic minorities, and those who smoke. This would contribute to any paternal effect of these factors on offspring health appearing smaller and weaker than any maternal effect.
A better understanding of the factors that influence paternal participation will enable researchers to develop strategies to increase paternal participation, thereby reducing these issues with bias. It will also highlight scenarios that might be subject to selection bias, which will help with interpretation of results.
Hypothesis-free approaches, such as those involving genetic and epigenetic ‘omic data, can help identify factors that influence paternal participation without reliance on/bias from the researchers’ assumptions.
This project aims to use genetic and epigenetic approaches to identify factors associated with paternal participation in birth cohort studies.

Impact of research: 
A better understanding of the factors that influence paternal participation will enable researchers to develop strategies to increase paternal participation, thereby reducing these issues with bias. It will also highlight scenarios that might be subject to selection bias, which will help with interpretation of results.
Date proposal received: 
Monday, 18 February, 2019
Date proposal approved: 
Tuesday, 19 February, 2019
Keywords: 
Genetic epidemiology (including association studies and mendelian randomisation), Pregnancy - e.g. reproductive health, postnatal depression, birth outcomes, etc., Cohort studies - attrition, bias, participant engagement, ethics, Epigenetics, Fathers, Genetic epidemiology, Genome wide association study, Mendelian randomisation, Methods - e.g. cross cohort analysis, data mining, mendelian randomisation, etc.