LIFE Child (LIFE Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases)
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- This is an observational study: the protocol does not assign a study treatment.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Child Development. Basic parameters: 0 years — 20 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Germany
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Prospective Population-based Childhood Cohort Study in the Leipzig Area Investigating Genetic, Environmental, and Metabolic Factors and Their Association With the Development of Civilization Diseases
Overview
The Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases (LIFE) Child Study is a prospective longitudinal population-based study with a life course approach to health and disease. The LIFE Child Study focuses on two main research objectives: * What are premises of normal growth, development and health in children? * Which factors contribute to the development of non-communicable diseases such as childhood obesity and its co-morbidities, atopy and mental health problems? Detailed assessments will be conducted alongside long-term storage of biological samples in 1,000 pregnant women and more than 5,000 children and their families.
Detailed description
* The LIFE Child study is part of LIFE, a life sciences research program of the University of Leipzig (Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases - LIFE). The measurements are performed in a well-equipped research centre located on the premises of the University Hospital of Leipzig. * The study collects detailed information from clinical examinations, questionnaires and interviews and includes a collection of several types of biological materials at various time points (urine, stool, hair, blood for direct analyses, genomic DNA, dried blood spots, paxgenes (for RNA isolation and expression/eQTL studies). Children and adolescents from 0 to 20 years at baseline and their families are included. Participants are followed annually over a period of several years irrespective of the age at the first participation in the study until they reach the age of 20. * Prenatal examinations are conducted in the 24th and 36th week of gestation and postnatal examinations in the 3rd, 6th and 12th month in the offspring. The birth cohort study collects detailed information from clinical examinations, questionnaires and interviews and biological materials (blood, cord blood, placental tissue, breast milk, hair, urine and stool) * In addition, the LIFE Child study focuses in the disease cohort LIFE Child OBESITY and disease free controls in more detail. The aim of these subgroups is to examine aetiological associations and comorbidities with more in-depth methods.
Primary outcome measures
- Civilization diseases and their risk factors [Time frame: 20 years]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- children with their families and pregnant women of the area of Leipzig
Exclusion criteria
- severe diseases
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
Study locations
Germany · 1 center
- LIFE Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig — Leipzig
Publications
- Trenkmann L, Ziegelasch N, Dittrich K, Willenberg A, Kiess W, Vogel M. Examining commonly used equations for estimating the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in a healthy cohort of children and adolescents. BMC Nephrol. 2026 Jul 25;27(1):446. doi: 10.1186/s12882-026-05219-y. PMID 42509536
- Stasche HIU, Georgi GM, Korner A, Kiess W, Biemann R, Turp JC, Hirsch C. Oral Contraceptive Use Is Associated With Increased Tenderness to Palpation in the Masticatory System in Female Adolescents-Results of the Epidemiological LIFE Child Study. J Oral Rehabil. 2026 Jul 21. doi: 10.1111/joor.70270. Online ahead of print. PMID 42481438
- Poulain T, Schmidt R, Kiess W, Krause S, Golz S, Meigen C. Performance on an attention test is positively related to reading but negatively related to watching TV and playing video games in children. BMC Pediatr. 2025 Oct 28;25(1):872. doi: 10.1186/s12887-025-06260-w. PMID 41146137
- Durgen P, Wolfle PJ, Ceglarek U, Kratzsch J, Kiess W, Vogel M. New sex hormone-binding globulin and estimated free testosterone reference intervals for children and adolescents: The effects of age, sex, BMI and oral contraceptives. Clin Chim Acta. 2026 Jan 15;579:120621. doi: 10.1016/j.cca.2025.120621. Epub 2025 Sep 25. PMID 41015329
- von Heimburg P, Baber R, Willenberg A, Wolfle P, Kratzsch J, Kiess W, Vogel M. Effect of sex, pubertal stage, body mass index, oral contraceptive use, and C-reactive protein on vitamin D binding protein reference values. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2025 Feb 18;16:1470513. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1470513. eCollection 2025. PMID 40041287
- Gruning Parache L, Vogel M, Meigen C, Kiess W, Poulain T. Family structure, socioeconomic status, and mental health in childhood. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2024 Jul;33(7):2377-2386. doi: 10.1007/s00787-023-02329-y. Epub 2023 Dec 26. PMID 38147107
- Wex I, Geserick M, Leibert T, Igel U, Sobek C, Meigen C, Kiess W, Vogel M. Active school transport in an urban environment:prevalence and perceived barriers. BMC Public Health. 2023 Mar 23;23(1):557. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-15464-7. PMID 36959624
- Schild CE, Meigen C, Kappelt J, Kiess W, Poulain T. Associations between sociodemographic and behavioural parameters and child development depending on age and sex: a cross-sectional analysis. BMJ Open. 2022 Nov 2;12(11):e065936. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065936. PMID 36323480
Identifiers
NCT: NCT02550236 · LIFE Child Leipzig