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In a COVID-19 controlled environment, Qatar Biobank has restarted work on the Qatar Birth Cohort Project, the first-of-its-kind study in the Middle East region.
The study aims to examine how factors such as the environment, genetics, nutrition and social aspects may affect fetal growth and mother and child.
“We have now resumed work on the Qatar Birth Cohort Project as it’s now safe to accept pregnant women at Qatar Biobank to participate in this project so we can resume our work on relevant research,” Dr. Kawthar M Al Dabhani, Senior Research Analyst at Qatar Biobank, told The Peninsula.
According to Dr. Kawthar, the study aims to recruit 3,000 families of mothers, fathers, and children and follow the journey of the child until they are five years old.
One of the main strengths of the study is that this is the first mother-child cohort study for environmental health research in the Middle East, the large number of participants and the data collected from this large study sample will allow for research on multiple outcomes.
“This is an epidemiological study where we prospectively observe women during their pregnancy, their children, and we also collect data from the father of their child or children so as to determine the genetic and life-course influences on childhood health, development and common complex diseases development that may persist in adulthood,” said Dr. Kawthar.
“The aim of the Qatar Birth Cohort Project is to assess the synergetic role of environmental exposures and genetic factors in the development of chronic disease of woman and child health and obstetric characteristics with high prevalence in the State of Qatar. All the information we are going to collect will help us understand the causes of illness, which will help us develop better ways of improving health and wellbeing,” said Dr. Kawthar.
