Piccolipiù, a multicenter birth cohort in Italy: protocol of the study

Abstract

BackgroundThe fetal and infant life are periods of rapid development, characterized by high susceptibility to exposures. Birth cohorts provide unique opportunities to study early-life exposures in association with child development and health, as well as, with longer follow-up, the early life origin of adult diseases. Piccolipiù is an Italian birth cohort recently set up to investigate the effects of environmental exposures, parental conditions and social factors acting during pre-natal and early post-natal life on infant and child health and development. We describe here its main characteristics.Methods/designPiccolipiù is a prospective cohort of expected 3000 newborns, who will be recruiting in six maternity units of five Italian cities (Florence, Rome, Trieste, Turin and Viareggio) since October 2011. Mothers are contacted during pregnancy or at delivery and are offered to participate in the study. Upon acceptance, their newborns are recruited at birth and followed up until at least 18 years of age. At recruitment, the mothers donate a blood sample and complete a baseline questionnaire. Umbilical cord blood, pieces of umbilical cord and heel blood spots are also collected. Postnatal follow-up currently occurs at 6, 12, and 24 months of age using on-line or postal self administered questionnaire; further questionnaires and medical examinations are envisaged. Questionnaires collect information on several factors, including mother’s and/or child’s environmental exposures, anthropometric measures, reproductive factors, diet, supplements, medical history, cognitive development, mental health and socioeconomic factors. Health promotion materials are also offered to parents.DiscussionPiccolipiù will broaden our understanding of the contribution of early-life factors to infant and child health and development. Several hypotheses on the developmental origins of health can be tested or piloted using the data collected from the Piccolipiù cohort. By pooling these data with those collected by other existing birth cohorts it will be possible to validate previous findings and to study rare exposures and outcomes.

A multi-omic analysis of birthweight in newborn cord blood reveals new underlying mechanisms related to cholesterol metabolism

“…Our study population arises from the EXPOsOMICS European project and includes 500 newborns from four population-based cohorts: 200 newborns from ENVIR ON AGE, 100 from INMA, 99 from Piccolipiù, and 101 from Rhea [ [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] ]. Inclusion criteria and protocols are detailed in the respective cohort descriptions and in the Supplementary methods.…”

Measuring Child Socio-Economic Position in Birth Cohort Research: The Development of a Novel Standardized Household Income Indicator

“…Piccolipiù is an Italian multicentre cohort, involving five centers (Turin, Trieste, Firenze, Viareggio, and Roma) that have recruited from 2011 to 2015 about 500 newborns each (1000 in Roma) for a total of approximately 3400 newborns [18].…”

Three contaminated sites in southern Italy. The Neonatal Environment and Health Outcomes cohort: protocol for a longitudinal birth cohort study

“…The number of studies linking maternal exposure to environmental pollutants during fetal gestation to various adult health outcomes has been gradually increasing. Several Italian pregnancy and birth cohort studies have investigated the health effects of environmental contaminant exposure during early life, with specific attention to prenatal exposures, air pollution, growth, neurocognitive development and respiratory health: NINFEA cohort,10 NACII,11 MUBICOS,12 Piccolipiù,13 GASPII and Co.N.ER 14. and Mamma & Bambino 15…”