Qatar Biobank, part of Qatar Foundation Research, Development, and Innovation is conducting the Qatari Birth Cohort (QBiC) study with a primary focus on public maternal and child health.

As the first mother-child cohort study in the Middle East Area, Qatar aims to assess the synergetic role of environmental exposure and genetic factors in the development of chronic disease and monitor woman and child health

The uniqueness of this study comes from the environmental protocols that have been set up to understand gene-environment interactions associated with health impact.

As part of Qatar’s first mother-childbirth cohort study, a total of 216 pregnant women were observed to examine how factors such as the environment, genetics, nutrition, and social aspects may affect their baby’s health.

Preliminary findings show that 70 percent of the women are overweight; 37 percent have gestational diabetes; 20 percent have a thyroid dysfunction; 10 percent have reported a psychological illness; and nine percent were diagnosed with hypertension.

Dr. Eleni Fthenou, a scientist at Qatar Biobank said, “No one has done this before in the region, specifically for birth cohort studies. There have been smaller studies completed or ongoing in the Middle East area with a small number of participants, but nothing that is as holistic as ours.”

The QBiC study is now in its pilot phase and has recruited 216 pregnant women and 76 fathers-to-be. The study aims to recruit 3,000 families including mothers, fathers, and children, and follow the journey of the child until they are five years old.

“Unlike other birth cohort studies done in the Middle East region that was built on specific research hypothesis, the QBiC study will provide an excellent opportunity to address a broad range of research questions using innovative approaches. This project aims the in-depth investigation of the impact of genome-exposure synergy in the establishment of adverse birth outcomes and chronic diseases development. And because of this, we can cover multiple outcomes,” says Dr. Fthenou.

The research team at Qatar Biobank has developed well-designed protocols for data collection with a focus to get harmonized data for future collaborations with other international birth cohorts.

Dr. Fthenou said, “In the QBiC study, we have 31 nationalities at the moment. We recruit Qataris and long-term residents – those who have been living in Qatar for 15 years or more. Qataris represent 28 percent of the sample population, while long-term Arab residents are at 54 percent, and other nationalities stand at 18 percent.”

In the second phase, the team is expected to collect data from newborns and toddlers, with mothers also being tracked with their babies in the first month after delivery.

“We will get data such as whether the mother is breastfeeding – what type of breastfeeding (exclusive or predominant); we will have the mother checked for postpartum depression; and follow-up on the baby at six months, one year, two years, and finally at four years,” Dr. Fthenou added.

All the collected data will be associated with multiple health outcomes at different timepoints. Dr. Fthenou explains that it is a “unique epidemiological study that will allow us to assess how various types of environmental exposures co-exist.”

''Novel tools and methods will be implemented to obtain estimates of individual environmental exposures, including outdoor and indoor air pollution.”

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Source and Cover Image Credit: Qatar Foundation