CU, CSU receive grant to study childhood health factors

FORT COLLINS — Colorado State University and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have been awarded $1.2 million to participate in a program that will investigate how exposure to a range of environmental factors in early development — from conception through early childhood — influences the health of children and adolescents.

The program is being run through the Colorado School of Public Health, a partnership among Colorado State University in Fort Collins, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.

The program is a National Institutes of Health initiative called Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes, or ECHO.

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NIH director Francis Collins said the program will help to better understand the factors that contribute to optimal health in children.

The award is part of a planned seven-year grant, with an estimated total value of $15 million for the Colorado participation. The Colorado study will leverage an existing and ongoing pre-birth cohort in Colorado, Healthy Start, which is currently following 1,410 mother-child pairs.

Sheryl Magzamen, an assistant professor of epidemiology in the Colorado SPH and CSU’s Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, is CSU’s principal investigator on the study. She will lead the measurement and evaluation of Healthy Start participants’ exposure to indoor and outdoor pollutants.

“Being able to add this element to an already rich study lets us better understand the role of the environment in childhood development,” Magzamen said. “A lot of adult disease has its roots in childhood, so this study may unlock clues for enhancing health, understanding the mechanics of disease, and improving environmental policies.”

The study also aims to connect health outcomes with biological pathways that occur from the moment of birth through childhood.
Dana Dabelea, principal investigator of the Colorado ECHO project and professor of epidemiology and pediatrics at CU Anschutz, said it’s the group’s hope that this study will advance the scientific understanding of early life contributors to child health outcomes, and build a foundation for the development and evaluation of future prevention efforts.