Mohsen Vigeh
Iran
Title: Tehran Environmental and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (TEND) cohort study: Phaseâ… , Feasibility Assessment
Biography
Biography: Mohsen Vigeh
Abstract
Background: To advance knowledge about childhood neurodevelopmental disorders and study their environmental determinants, we conducted a study in Tehran, Iran to assess the feasibility of prospective birth cohort study.
Methods: We identified 838 eligible pregnant women who referred to three hospitals and two healthcare centers (Tehran, Iran) from February 2016 to October 2017. We collected data (by detailed questionnaires) and biological samples in four steps: (1) in first trimester of pregnancy; (2) in third trimester of pregnancy; (3) at delivery; and (4) two to three months after delivery. Various biological samples were obtained from mothers (blood, urine, milk and nails—hands and feet) and newborns (umbilical cord blood, meconium, and urine samples).
Results: The participation rate was 25% in our study and about 90% of subjects were recruited in hospitals. Out of 206 participants in the first trimester, blood, urine, hand nail, and foot nail samples were collected from 100%, 93%, 99%, and 99%, respectively. These values dropped to 54%, 69%, 70%, and 70% for the remaining participants (n=120, 58%) in the third trimester, respectively. Also, we gathered milk samples from 60% of mothers at two to three months after delivery.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that hospitals were better places for recruitment of subjects in a birth cohort in Tehran than healthcare centers. We further concluded that birth cohort study recruitment can be improved by choosing appropriate gestational ages. Obtaining the newborn's urine, meconium, and umbilical cord blood were challenging procedures and require good collaboration between hospital staff and researchers.