Maximising the potential of Chinese birth cohort studies: a systematic review of mother-baby cohorts in mainland China

Objectives: There is now a growing interest in early -life influences on adult diseases in China. A number of birth cohorts have been established. This systematic review provided a better understanding of the development of mother -baby cohorts in China. Study design: Systematic review. Methods: We conducted a systematic review for research or profile papers in English/Chinese that reported data from mother -baby cohorts in mainland China, with >= 1y follow-up after birth. We identified 315 papers, corresponding to 31 cohorts from 19 provinces/megacities. Results: All cohorts started in 1999-2017 (21 after 2010) and were set up with broad objectives or specific scientific focus. The baseline sample size varied, from <500 to >300,000 mothers. A majority of cohorts were initiated during pregnancy and followed children to <10y, only six to adolescence and none into adulthood. These cohorts mostly collected samples from mothers and babies, in addition to using interviews/questionnaires to collect information about pregnancy, birth and child health. Most cohorts were recruited from a single province/city. The large western region was understudied. Conclusions: Mother -baby cohorts have developed rapidly in China, but usually with a short follow-up duration. Extending the follow-up of children and developing cross -cohort collaboration will increase the diversity, size and coverage of the sample, allow studying early influences on life -course health and identify targets for early intervention in the Chinese population. (c) 2023 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.