US population study looks at roots of disease trends

In just a matter of weeks, federal scientists will begin recruiting 100,000 pregnant women for an ambitious study designed to track children's health from the womb to the age of 21. And over that time, they expect to gain new insights into the role genetics, geography and the environment play in a wide range of diseases. The cost of the study is set at $2.7 billion.

At the top of the agenda is a better explanation for rising rates of childhood obesity, cancer, autism and behavioral problems. Other such population studies are underway in countries such as Britain, Denmark and Norway.

"Something like this has never been done in this country," said Dr. Philip J. Landrigan of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "It's past time for us to do this."

- read the article in the New York Times

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