THe COHORTS - Consortium of health Outcome research in Transitional Socities - Brazil, Guatemala, India, Philipines, South Africa - Phase 3 (360G-Wellcome-089257_C_09_Z)

There is widespread interest in the early origins of adult health and capacity. However, findings supporting the notion that risks for diseases are programmed in early life come largely from high-income countries, where environmental conditions are generally good and where there is less environmental variation than is generally found in low- and middle-income countries. The five studies in COHORTS - Pelotas, Guatemala, New Delhi, Cebu, Soweto-Johannesburg are among the largest and longest runn ing prospective birth cohorts outside the rich industrialized world. A comprehensive review of the long-term consequences of maternal and child undernutrition and pooled data from the studies was published in The Lancet 2007 Nutrition Series. In 2007, the Trust funded COHORTS to undertake further analysis of early growth and feeding with the following markers for chronic diseases: systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glucose levels, and body mass index and body composition (Phase 2). The goal of the proposed research (Phase 3) is to extend the analyses already conducted to examine the role of environmental factors, particularly those related to socioeconomic status, in determining and influencing early growth patterns, later outcomes, and relationships between early growth patterns and adult health and capacity.