Study of U.S. child health takes big step forward

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The largest-ever U.S. children's health study, which hopes to find cures to some of the nation's most pressing and puzzling health problems, has added 22 new study centers, officials announced on Thursday.

The new centers join seven existing centers in the planned National Children's Study, which will focus in large part on diseases that are increasingly prevalent in the United States, such as autism and asthma, Dr. Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, told reporters in a telephone briefing.

"The National Children's study is the largest and longest research study ever to look at the ways in which environment and genetics interact to influence child health and human development," Alexander said.

"It will look at how behavioral and social factors also interact with genetics and the physical environment," he said.

The 25-year study aims to recruit 100,000 children from before birth to age 21.

The $3.2 billion project began in response to the Children's Health Act of 2000, when Congress directed the federal agencies to undertake a national, long-term study of children's health and development in relation to environmental exposures.

The new centers, most located at major research universities across the country, were funded by $69 million from Congress in fiscal year 2007 and will now start hiring and training staff.

The initial seven centers will start enrolling pregnant women within the next nine to 10 months.