Researchers hope to analyze children from birth until age 21

The National Children’s Study (NCS) recently started recruitment of women in the San Diego area. The NCS is a long-term study on the health of children, and it has the largest conducted to date in the United States.

Researchers are requesting women between the ages of 18 and 49 who are either currently pregnant or may become pregnant in the near future.

Researchers hope to analyze children prior to birth until the age of 21, monitoring how various aspects of daily life and environmental factors may influence overall health and development of the child.

Additional conclusions researchers hope to draw are whether or not specific factors influence disease risks for children, and how the exact environment affects any potential long-term health ailments a child may experience.

Currently, the study is looking for volunteers from more than 10 different neighborhoods in the San Diego area.

The study plans to span the entire United States, analyzing more than 100,000 children. Researchers seek a diverse group of women in location, race, and ethnicity.

Researchers plan to analyze the baby as the woman is pregnant, during birth at the hospital, and then make periodic visits after the child is born for the next 21 years.