The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Study (ALSPAC) is one of the core activities of the Vascular Physiology Unit at Great Ormond Street Hospital. This studies a very large group of around 14,000 children born in 1990 and 1991.
The team studied four vascular measurements of structure and function in a subset of these children at age 10 years old:
Since then they have been studying the genetic and environmental factors which relate to impaired arterial function in this group.
The effect of childhood infections on vascular function in the young, and their potential for recovery one year later, has already been reported, and the data obtained is being analysed in terms of both the environmental and genetic influences on vascular function. Analysis of blood samples collected from the children at ages 9 and 11 years old will greatly enhance the understanding of the risk factors and vascular responses.
The ALSPAC cohort will be studied again at 17 years old to examine the impact of puberty and teenage lifestyle, and the emerging of structural arterial disease.
The team also plans to use specialised imaging, including Magnetic Resonance, to investigate further the mechanisms linking body fat and early arterial disease in the ALSPAC group and other established childhood cohorts. They hope to: