YOUth study design

YOUth is a prospective cohort study with repeated measurements at regular intervals (i.e. 'waves'). Specifically, the study has two inclusion moments: YOUth Baby & Child and YOUth Child & Adolescent. 

Research waves for YOUth Baby & Child (left) and YOUth Child & Adolescent (right)

Baby & Child

The first group, YOUth Baby & Child, includes more than 2500 pregnant women at 20 weeks of pregnancy, and their partners through hospitals and midwifery practices. All women presenting at these hospitals and practices for their routine visits, are asked to participate. Recruitment has started in July 2015 and is still ongoing. The children that are being born from these pregnancies visit our ChildResearchCenter at several moments during their lives and are followed for at least 6 years.

Child & Adolescent

The second group, YOUth Child & Adolescent, includes more than 1350 children aged 8, 9 or 10 and their parents through primary schools and events. These children visit our ChildResearchCenter every three years.

Broad age range

YOUth applies a flexible longitudinal design for the cohorts. This means that children will be measured at broader age ranges (3-year age ranges) at each wave. The main benefit of the flexible age design is that it will provide more detailed information on the neurodevelopmental curves over time.

Cohort profile paper 

A detailed description of the YOUth study rationale, design, and study procedures. In this paper we describe in detail the design of this study, the population included, the determinants, intermediate neurocognitive measures and outcomes included in the study. Furthermore, we describe in detail the procedures of inclusion, informed consent, and study participation.

Experiment descriptions

For all experiments carried out, you can find a detailed description: