by Ashleigh Sanchez
Daily Lobo
UNM Hospital received a $12.3 million grant to study Valencia County children from gestation to age 21.
Doctors and nurses from the hospital will keep tabs on 1,000 children's health as part of a national study, said Robert Annett, principle investigator for the project.
The team will focus on ailments such as asthma, diabetes, childhood obesity, injury and ADHD, Annett said.
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"This study has a tremendous breadth," he said. "We're going to look at environmental factors, home situations, physical health, learning and more."
Valencia County was selected based on its birth rates, diversity and rural status, he said.
Annett said the National Institutes of Health awarded UNM Hospital $12.3 million over a five-year period to conduct the study as part of a larger initiative.
He said the cost of the entire project, about $300 billion, is only 1 percent of what treating these illnesses would cost over 27 years.
He said 15 full-time staff members will work on the study for the duration of the project.
"If it improves health even a little bit, those costs will be gained back," Annett said.
Renate Savich, a physician with the research team at UNM, said the study is groundbreaking and will be important to the health of the nation.
"This could have a major impact on how healthy we are as a country," she said. "It says they have confidence in us to do this."
Some of the participants wouldn't otherwise receive this type of prenatal care or visit a hospital on a regular basis,
Annett said.
"The major benefit of this study is for the participants," he said. "They will receive extra observation, checkups and attention."
The team at UNMH is creating a plan for recruitment, and Annett said he expects the study to get underway in late 2009.
Women between 18 and 44 living in Valencia County who are pregnant or are expecting to become pregnant in the next four years are eligible for the study,
he said.
Annett said enrollment will continue through the first four years of the study, and the goal is to enroll 250 women a year for four years.
He said women under 18 who fit the criteria may enroll in the study with parental permission.
"We will literally be knocking on people's doors and asking if there are eligible people living there,"
he said.
Researchers will perform ultrasounds on the enrolled women and record the findings, Annett said.
The children will receive periodic checkups and screenings for problems such as learning disabilities as they grow, and researchers will monitor illness development, injuries and health.
"We want to understand what contributes to healthy outcomes, as well as illness," he said. "That makes this study very unique."
