Cohort Profile: Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study (APCAPS)

Abstract

The Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study (APCAPS) was originally established to study the long-term effects of early-life undernutrition on risk of cardiovascular disease. Its aims were subsequently expanded to include trans-generational influences of other environmental and genetic factors on chronic diseases in rural India. It builds on the Hyderabad Nutrition Trial (HNT) conducted in 1987–90 to compare the effects on birthweight of a protein-calorie supplement for pregnant women and children. The index children of HNT and their mothers were retraced and examined in 2003–05, and the children re-examined as young adults aged 18–21 years in 2009–10. The cohort was expanded to include both parents and siblings of the index children in a recently completed follow-up conducted in 2010–12 (N = ∼6225 out of 10 213 participants). Recruitment of the remaining residents of these 29 villages (N = ∼55 000) in Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh is now under way. Extensive data on socio-demographic, lifestyle, medical, anthropometric, physiological, vascular and body composition measures, DNA, stored plasma, and assays of lipids and inflammatory markers on APCAPS participants are available. Details of how to access these data are available from the corresponding author.

Development and validation of anthropometric prediction equations for estimation of lean body mass and appendicular lean soft tissue in Indian men and women

“…The first group of participants ( n = 1,448; 32% women; age range: 18–23 yr) included members of a birth cohort established to assess the long-term impact of early nutrition supplementation provided to pregnant women and young children (Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study) (13). The second group included participants of the Hyderabad arm of the Indian Migration Study that was established to examine the association between rural to urban migration and cardiometabolic risk ( n = 916; 46% women; age range: 21–79 yr).…”

Cardiovascular Diseases in India

“…84 Data generated from the ongoing intergenerational cohort study involving children and parents in the South Indian state of Telengana will likely provide reliable scientific evidence on long-term effects of early-life undernutrition on the risk of CVD in adulthood. 43 In addition to these biological mechanisms, social factors also appear to play a role. 85 Early-life influences result in impaired cognition, low school performance, and low productivity, all of which are associated with excess cardiovascular risk factors.…”

Association of Hip Bone Mineral Density and Body Composition in a Rural Indian Population: The Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study (APCAPS)

“…The HNT studied impact of the Integrated Child Development Services scheme, a national community outreach programme providing food supplementation along with health, hygiene, and nutrition education, immunization, anemia control, and basic health care to pregnant and lactating women and children under the age of six years [17]. A detailed description of the initial trial (HNT) and the first wave of data collection (the first follow-up of the HNT, 2003–2005) has previously been published [17,18]. …”