The ORIGINS Project has been sponsored by the Telethon Kids Institute and will recruit women from the cities of Joondalup and Wanneroo early in pregnancy and collect data on their health, diet, physical activity and other environmental factors.
The study will then assess how these early life exposures influence their child’s growth, development and health.
The City of Joondalup has been chosen because there is a prevalence of non-communicable (non-infectious) diseases in the population, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, asthma and mental health problems.
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READ NOWBefore a presentation of the project to the university’s ethics committee, a letter of support was being sought from the City of Joondalup.
Councillors agreed to provide this at their June 24 meeting.
‘The development of many common and serious diseases occurs as early as in the womb,’ a council document said. ‘This project aims at uncovering when and why non-communicable diseases develop through the study of early environments, maternal physical health and genetics.
‘The goal of the project is to reduce the rising epidemic of non-communicable diseases through a healthy start to life.’
There are about 3000 deliveries per year at JHC and over five years the study aims to collect data from more than 10,000 mothers and infants during standard clinical care and invite as many of these women as possible to consent to a more active follow-up.