In January 2009, the National Institutes of Health began recruitment for the National Children's Study (NCS).1 The NCS is a multiyear research project that will examine the effects of environmental influences on health and development and explore the complex interactions between genes and the environment in relationship to child and adult health. More than 100,000 children across the United States will be recruited and followed from before birth until age 21. The NCS will examine important health issues such as birth defects, prematurity, and low birth weight to establish links between children's environments and their health. By tracking children's development through infancy, childhood, and early adulthood, investigators hope to determine the root causes of many childhood and adult diseases. Findings will benefit all Americans by providing researchers, healthcare providers, and public health officials with information from which to develop prevention strategies, health and safety guidelines, and possibly new treatments and cures for disease.

The ambitious NCS will take place in 105 locations across the United States and is designed to include a representative sample of the US population, from diverse ethnic, racial, economic, religious, geographic, and social groups. Women in these communities who are pregnant or likely to become pregnant will be invited to participate. A review of the NCS research plan, conducted by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine, is available online for review by interested readers.2

References