21-year federal children’s health study set to kick off

A group of federal agencies is set to launch a 21-year national study on children’s health that is expected to cost $2.7 billion (Source: “21-Year Study of Children Set to Begin,” New York Times, Oct. 28, 2008).

Nearly a decade of planning has gone into the National Children’s Study, which was conceived during the Clinton administration and authorized by the Children’s Health Act of 2000. The study is to be led by a series of federal agencies.

Every subject and his or her mother (participation by fathers is encouraged but not required) will be will be given periodic interviews and questionnaires. They also will be asked to submit samples of blood, urine and hair. Air, water and dust from their environments will also be sampled and tested.

Subjects will be chosen from 105 counties to achieve a representative mix of racial, ethnic, religious, social, cultural and geographic characteristics. Forty regional centers will administer the study. The only two counties in Ohio that have been selected are Cuyahoga and Lorain. Case Western Reserve University will administer the study in those two counties.