Osteoporosis is a condition that causes bones to become fragile and more likely to fracture, even as a results of a minor bump or accident. The amount of bone accumulated from birth to young adulthood is the most important predictor of osteoporosis. Several factors influence the accrual of bone mineral during childhood and adolescence, including heredity, diet, physical activity, and endocrine status. It is postulated that risk of poor bone health may be programmed as early as in the intrauterine period. Maternal diet, exercise, and smoking, along with maternal health conditions like hypertension, diabetes, asthma, anaemia, and renal diseases, might affect fetal growth, development, and bone mineral acquisition. In vivo study showed that maternal glucose control of diabetic mother as can impact the skeletal growth and long-term bone health of their offspring.
The present study will be the first to assess the association between maternal diabetes, including pre-existing and gestational diabetes, and offspring’s bone health. Our study will provide compelling evidence as to whether maternal diabetes is associated with measures of bone health in children and young adolescence.

Individuals who take part in voluntary studies provide valuable data for health scientists across a range of health-related outcomes. These studies are extremely useful for understanding relationships between health related exposures and health outcomes. Results from studies such as ALSPAC (Children of the 90s) often rely on statistical methods to apply such relationships to the wider population (as the people who take part in these studies are often unusual in some way). One of the most commonly used statistical methods for this is called weighting, where we statistically "up-weight" people who are less likely to take part in a study, and "down-weight" people who are more likely to take part in a study, so that we can apply our findings to populations which are dissimilar to the studied (ALSPAC) population. It is not well understood how these methods perform in cases where the weights are constructed from a complex measure such as mental health - which may be measured differently for people who remain in a study, and those who go on to drop out. This study will provide valuable insights into how we might approach this.

What young children eat can affect their well-being in many ways, and the wide range of food choices and the rising cost of food can make it difficult for parents and carers to choose the best options for their children. The aim of this project is to find out how young children’s diet affects their growth and health as they develop into adults. For example, are children who have more sugary snacks and drinks more likely to be affected by tooth decay or overweight and high blood pressure later in life? Do children who follow a mostly plant-based diet get the right amount of nutrients such as protein for ideal growth? These questions come from a recent UK government review of the gaps in our knowledge on young children’s diets. We will discuss these questions with parents to find out what else they would like us to find out about feeding their children well.
To answer the questions raised we will use information on the diets of pre-school children from two up-to-date national surveys. The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) collects information on all foods and drinks consumed over two days as well as the height and weight of children across the UK. Around 1,200 1-5 year-olds are expected to take part between 2019 and 2025. In addition, in 2024 the survey of Diet in Scotland’s children (DISH) will collect information on what around 300 children aged 2-5 years eat and drink and some further questions about their general food habits and household food situation. These surveys will tell us how different types of diets and food choices can provide enough nutrients for health and growth.
To find out how diet in young children affects longer-term growth and health we will use information from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a Bristol-based study of 14,000 children born in 1991-2 and their parents who contributed information on the children’s diet and health regularly over the last 30 years. This study will allow us to look at how diet in children under five is related to dental, heart, and lung health when they become young adults. By comparing the diet of young children in ALSPAC with the diet of children in the NDNS and DISH surveys we will be able to assess the changes in children’s diet across the last 30 years.
Studies from around the world have suggested that young children’s diets affect their health throughout their life. This project is designed to provide insights into the importance of these issues in the UK. This will help those who design the programmes and guidance which support all parents and carers to feed their children well.

Biological age, of which the calculation primarily involves the use of epigenomic data, such as methylation, could predict the health status and disease risk in humans, and show substantial differences between individuals in early life, sometimes even from birth. Numerous studies have demonstrated that accelerated biological ages were related to increased disease risk and mortality, whereas conversely, deceleration relates to better health and longevity.
The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis suggests that the health and disease risk of offspring could be influenced by exposures during parental pregnancy and early-life experiences. Current research also indicates that parental lifestyle and environmental exposures during early fetal development may have profound and lasting effects on the health of offspring. However, there are still gaps in our understanding of whether and how early-life modifiable exposures during parental pregnancy and early life, such as socioeconomic factors, education, etc., may impact the biological age of offspring, thereby influencing disease risk.
This project aims to investigate the causal relationship between early-life modifiable exposures with the biological age and the disease risk of offspring using data from the ALSPAC cohort. We will employ a multi-omics approach and longitudinal data analysis to explore the underlying biological mechanisms, providing new opportunities and valuable guidance for early detection and health interventions.

Health monitoring and clinical decision making in paediatric care largely depend on the availability of reference values for clinical parameters. Hence, the diagnosis of highly prevalent conditions in children and adolescents such as metabolic dysfunction has been hampered by the lack of a worldwide consensus on diagnostic criteria, as definitions and cut-offs being used in the paediatric population are frequently derived from the adult population. Providing globally applicable reference curves for the metabolic syndrome and its components, in early life - from birth to adolescence - represents a big step towards the ultimate goal: developing cut-offs for clinically relevant biomarkers for paediatric practice. By making use of the increasing availability of research data worldwide, we aim to establish a global pooling initiative building on a previously published special issue of the International Journal of Obesity "Filling the gap: international reference values for health care in children" (edited by Ahrens W, Moreno LA, Pigeot I), and further taking advantage of increased statistical power and variations across age groups, geographical regions and socio-cultural backgrounds. Thus, biomarker data for the metabolic syndrome are being collected, subsequently calibrated, harmonized, combined and analysed to provide age-, sex- and ethnic-specific reference curves for metabolic biomarkers to facilitate the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome in early life globally.

Club cell secretory protein (CC16, also known as CC10, CCSP, and uteroglobin) is a homodimeric pneumoprotein encoded by the SCGB1A1 gene that is mainly produced by club cells and other airway epithelial cells but can be readily measured in circulation. A growing body of evidence indicates that this molecule plays a critical role in enhancing resilience to respiratory infections and reducing airway inflammation. In this context, our hypothesis is that low levels of circulating CC16 in childhood may serve as an early indicator of individuals who will develop airflow limitation, a precursor of early chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in their young adult life. Because of the expected low prevalence of airflow limitation in young adult life, testing this hypothesis will require a large epidemiological consortium of birth cohorts that have serum/plasma samples available from childhood and have characterized the lung function of a large number of participants from birth into adult life.
Here we propose to measure CC16 levels in plasma samples collected at ages 7, 9, and 15 years from ALSPAC participants to determine whether deficits in circulating CC16 in childhood predict the development of airflow limitation and small airway disease, as precursors of early COPD, in young adult life. We will integrate multiple longitudinal measurements of CC16 in childhood and link them to lung function measurements (both spirometry and IOS) completed in adult life.

Cancers develop for many years before they are diagnosed. Using data from first-generation ALSPAC offspring, we aim in this study to estimate the effects of being more genetically susceptible to endometrial cancer on metabolic and proteomic traits measured in blood across early life; this should help to reveal what early stages of endometrial cancer development look like and when they occur. More specifically, we will examine associations of genetic risk scores for endometrial cancer that has been shown to be influenced by obesity with traits from targeted metabolomics measured in childhood (age 8y), adolescence (age 15y), and young adulthood (age 18y and 24y) and proteomics measured in childhood (age 8 y) and young adulthood (age 24). This allows us to view subtle changes in the circulating metabolome and proteome over time which precede the onset of clinically detectable endometrial cancer by several decades. Recognizing the early signs of endometrial cancer development is vital for informing early detection, preventing its onset in older age, and improving survival.

Information can be obtained from ALSPAC (B number folder) or the UK LLC on request

Psychosis refers to the experience of hallucinations and/or delusions. Psychotic experiences range from short-lived symptoms that are not fully believed through to persistent severe symptoms that characterise psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia. Compared to the general population, the prevalence of romantic relationships in people who experience psychosis is low. This is problematic. Firstly, because people with psychosis, like members of the general population, see romantic relationships as being a fundamental aspect of life and often report being dissatisfied with their intimate relationships. Secondly, because there is some evidence to suggest that having a partner is associated with reduced symptoms for people who experience psychosis, especially for those under 35 years old.

Unfortunately, much of the available literature is limited and as a result, the direction of influence between romantic relationships and psychosis remains unclear. This project aims to use data collected at various timepoints to better understand whether being without a partner increases vulnerability to developing psychosis / contributes to the maintenance of symptoms, or if those who experience fewer symptoms are simply more able to form romantic relationships.