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Volunteers Sought For Study Of Children's Health

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@tampatrib.com

Published: February 7, 2009

A National Children's Study is recruiting volunteers for a comprehensive study of how genetics and the environment interact to affect children's health.

The National Institutes of Health study will track the health and development of more than 100,000 children from before birth through their 21st birthday.

The first phase of recruitment is in North Carolina and Queens, N.Y. The University of Miami is overseeing part of the second wave of the research and will be using subjects from Hillsborough, Baker and Orange counties.

The University of South Florida is assisting with the local phase of the study.

"The principal benefit of a large-scale, long-term study like the National Children's Study is that it will uncover important health information at virtually every phase of life," said one of a consortium of federal agencies implementing the study.

"Initially, it will provide major insights into disorders of birth and infancy, such as preterm birth and its health consequences," Duane Alexander, director of NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said in a statement.

"Ultimately it will lead to a greater understanding of adult disorders, many of which are thought to be heavily influenced by early life exposures and events."

Once all phases of the study are under way, there are expected to be about 40 study centers recruiting volunteers. Recruitment should happen within the next 18 months.

A staff report

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