Completed Pregnancy, Children & Inherited Conditions Public Health & Healthcare

The Born in Bradford (BiB) Study an international biomedical resource for exploring genetic and early life determinants of health and development in a deprived multi-ethnic population.

Funder Wellcome Charity-funded
Recipient organisation University of Bristol
Funding £1.5M
Period Feb 2014 — Jan 2019

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

A biobank in Bradford has stored blood samples and health data from 12,453 pregnant women, their 13,818 babies, and 3,448 partners, creating a resource that tracks health from before birth through early childhood. This matters because the Born in Bradford study is uniquely suited to answer questions about why some groups develop heart disease and diabetes more than others. Over half the families are of South Asian origin, predominantly Pakistani, a population with high rates of cardiometabolic disease and a high prevalence of consanguinity. The study also holds the largest collection of pregnancy glucose tolerance test results linked to detailed measurements of children’s growth from birth to age five, alongside genome-wide genetic data now being collected. If the project succeeds, researchers worldwide will be able to access this data and biological samples to investigate how genes, early life environment, and ethnicity interact to shape long-term health. This could eventually lead to better screening, prevention, or treatment strategies for conditions that disproportionately affect deprived, multi-ethnic communities. The work is primarily about building an infrastructure for future fundamental and applied research.

View original technical description
We will enhance the Born in Bradford (BiB) resource and make it accessible. Between 2007-2011 information on a wide range of characteristics were collected from 12,453 women who experienced 13,776 pregnancies (recruited at ~28 weeks), their babies (13,818) and partners (3,448). Mothers were assessed and completed an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Infants had detailed anthropometric assessments at birth and postnatally to five years. Maternal and cord blood samples have been stored and DNA e xtracted for ~10,000 mothers and ~10,000 children. There are over 250,000 biological samples. BiB is unique: (i) over half of the families are of South Asian origin, predominantly Pakistani, providing a relatively homogenous group with a high prevalence of consanguinity and predisposition to cardiometabolic disease; (ii) it is the largest study with pregnancy OGTT, postnatal anthropometry and recently funded (to be collected) genome-wide data on mothers and offspring; (iii) it was established with input from health practitioners, the public and academics to address key research needs. Objectives are to develop BiB by: 1. Producing an effective biobank 2. Linking participants to health and education data 3. Developing systems to make all existing and newly collected data available to the scientific community 4. Enhancing public engagement

View the original record at the funder ↗

Researchers

Deborah Lawlor (EPMC Awardee)

Related Research

Grants with similar aims, by meaning.

Born in Bradford 2nd Wave
Born in Bradford for all connected routine data research database
BiB4All connected routine data research database
BiBBS ACHIEVE: Addressing Childhood Inequalities through Evidence-Based Early Interventions using Born in Bradford’s Better Start (BiBBS) birth cohort
Understanding the impact of covid-19 on pregnant women and new parents: The Born in Bradford 2020 Families Study

Original classification

Biomedical Resources Grant

Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.