Participation in the National Children’s Study is a unique opportunity to be a part of a landmark health effort. It will be one of the richest research efforts geared toward studying children’s health and development and will form the basis of child health guidance, interventions, and policy for generations to come.
The National Children’s Study will examine important health issues to establish links between children’s environments and their health, including:
- birth defects and pregnancy-related problems
- injuries
- asthma
- obesity
- diabetes
- behavior, learning, and mental health disorders.
By tracking children’s development through infancy, childhood, and early adulthood, the Study hopes to determine the root causes of many childhood and adult diseases.
The National Children’s Study is unique because it includes children and families from different areas of the country, from varied backgrounds, and of different family types, to allow investigation of issues important to the diverse U.S. population. The Study will represent the nation’s children, which means that it will include children from many socioeconomic groups and from many races and ethnic groups. It will give us information that will provide better explanations and understanding for many conditions that today are affecting not just an individual or groups of individuals, but entire populations.
For more information, see the following resources: