National Children's Study Begins Recruiting V...(8-08.pdf onclick linkClick( this.href )...),Health

Dr. Scheidt added that during this initial recruitment phase, referred to as the Vanguard cohort phase, study researchers will evaluate their recruitment and sampling methods.

"We'll look at what we've accomplished, see if our recruitment efforts were sufficient, see if our sampling methods were successful, and if we've otherwise asked the right questions to get the information we need," Dr. Scheidt said. "Along the way, we'll undertake any fine tuning that we need to in preparation for further enrollment after the Vanguard cohort phase."

The information collected during this Vanguard phase can be pooled with the data collected during later phases of the study to provide the basis for later scientific analysis.

Although the study can be expected to provide information throughout its duration, information on disorders and conditions of early life is expected within the next few years. Because the study will enroll pregnant women and, in some cases, women who are not yet pregnant, study scientists hope to identify a range of early life factors that influence later development.

"It is very exciting to reach the point at which we're beginning enrollment and data collection," Dr. Scheidt said. "Findings from the study will ultimately benefit all Americans by providing researchers, health care providers, and public health officials with information from which to develop prevention strategies, health and safety guidelines, and possibly new treatments and perhaps even cures for disease."

The two Vanguard Cohort Centers will reflect the study's representative design in their recruitment, said Dr. Barbara Entwisle, the Principal Investigator of the National Children's Study Center at the University of North Carolina at Ch
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