National Children's Study adds 22 centers

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- The National Children’s Study announced Thursday that 22 new study centers had received contracts for its survey of 100,000 U.S. children.

The goal of the study is to follow 100,000 children from birth to the age of 21, examining the role of genetic and environmental factors in children’s and adult health.

“Today’s announcement represents a milestone for the National Children’s Study,” said Dr. Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. “The addition of new study centers will move the study closer to its goal of recruiting more than 100,000 children representative of the entire population of American children.”

The 22 centers are located in 20 states across the United States, 15 in the East and 11 in the West. They were selected for geographic and demographic diversity, for the number of children born and the number of babies born with low birth weights.