THE RAINE STUDY W W W . R A I N E S T U D Y . O R G . A U

The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study is one of the largest prospective cohorts of pregnancy, childhood, adolescence and now early adulthood to be carried out anywhere in the world.

The Raine Study’s purpose is to improve human health and well-being, through the study of a cohort of Western Australians from before birth onwards.

2900 pregnant women entered the study between 1989 and 1991 and 2868 live births were recruited into the cohort. These children born into the study, their parents, their grandparents and now their own children are part of one of the world’s most successful multi-generational pregnancy cohort studies.

The Raine Study is a joint venture between The University of , of Technology, Telethon Kids Institute, Women and Infants Research Foundation, Edith Cowan University, and The University of Notre Dame Australia and receives additional funding support from the Raine Medical Research Foundation and National Health and Medical Research Council.

HISTORY In 1989 Professor John Newnham and colleagues invited more than 3000 pregnant women to join a National Health and Medical Research Council funded research study at King Edward Memorial Hospital to initially examine the possible beneficial effects of repeated fetal ultrasound imaging THE RAINE STUDY TODAY studies. Along with Professor Newnham, a The Raine Study has now become a group of prominent investigators multi-generational study with (Professor Fiona Stanley, Professor Lou participation of the Raine Study index Landau and Professor Con Michael) participants (Generation 2), their parents formed a group to establish these (Generation 1), their Grandparents families into a cohort study beyond the (Generation 0) and their children initial research into ultrasounds. (Generation 3). This new cohort study (the Raine Study) would focus on the child, to determine The Raine Study cohort is recognised as one of the largest, most successful birth how events during pregnancy and cohorts in the world. childhood influence health in later life. This was initially supported with funding The participants have been followed closely over the last 28 years, not only by from the Raine Medical Research WA based researchers and institutions, but also interstate and international Foundation. researchers THE RAINE STUDY K E Y F I N D I N G S

ALMOST 500 RESEARCH PAPERS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED USING DATA COLLECTED FROM THE RAINE STUDY.

RAINE STUDY INFORMATION COLLECTED SINCE 1989 IS USED TO EXAMINE THE PATHWAYS TO HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF CHILDREN, TEENAGERS AND ADULTS, IMPACTING HEALTH POLICY AND PRACTICE.

THE RAINE STUDY HAS: Established the safety of ultrasounds and the standard for routine prenatal ultrasound scanning worldwide. Newnham JP, Evans SF, Michael CA, Stanley FJ, Landau LI. Effects of frequent ultrasound during pregnancy: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 1993;342:887-91

Has identified genes associated with lung function, birthweight, puberty and language development.

Found that children who were breastfed for four months or longer had a healthier weight, had less asthma and allergies and less behavioural problems. Oddy, W. H., et al. (2014). “Early infant feeding and adiposity risk: from infancy to adulthood.” Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 64(3-4): 262-270 AND Oddy, Wendy H., Jennifer K. Peat, and Nicholas H. de Klerk. 2002. “Maternal Asthma, Infant Feeding, and the Risk of Asthma in Childhood.” Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 110 (1) (July): 65-67. doi:10.1067/mai.2002.125296

Found that teenagers who ate a Western diet (high in processed foods) have more behavioural problems than teenagers who have a healthy diet.

Identified a better quality diet in adolescence is also related to better school achievement. Nyaradi, Anett, Jonathan K Foster, Siobhan Hickling, Jianghong Li, Gina L Ambrosini, Angela Jacques, and Wendy H Oddy. 2014. “Prospective Associations between Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Performance during Adolescence.” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines 55 (9) (September): 1017-24. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12209.

Found that low vitamin D levels put children and teenagers at an increased risk for both allergy and asthma, and this affects boys more than girls. Hollams, E M, P H Hart, B J Holt, M Serralha, F Parsons, N H de Klerk, G Zhang, P D Sly, and P G Holt. 2011. “Vitamin D and Atopy and Asthma Phenotypes in Children: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.” The European Respiratory Journal 38 (6) (December): 1320-7. doi:10.1183/09031936.00029011

Found that work absenteeism is identified as a significant issue for young adults and is associated with spinal pain and mental ill-health. Beales D, Kyaw-Myint S, Smith A, O’Sullivan P, Pransky G, Linton S, et al. Work Productivity Loss in Young Workers Is Substantial and Is Associated With Spinal Pain and Mental Ill-health Conditions. J Occup Environ Med. 2017;59(3):237-45.

Identified trajectories characterised by participation in sports across childhood and adolescence predict better physical health in adulthood.