Ascertaining and classifying cases of congenital anomalies in the ALSPAC birth cohort.

Congenital anomalies (CAs) are structural or functional disorders that occur during intrauterine life. Longitudinal cohort studies provide unique opportunities to investigate potential causes and consequences of these disorders. In this data note, we describe how we identified cases of major CAs, with a specific focus on congenital heart diseases (CHDs), in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). We demonstrate that combining multiple sources of data including data from antenatal, delivery, primary and secondary health records, and parent-reported information can improve case ascertainment. Our approach identified 590 participants with a CA according to the European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies (EUROCAT) guidelines, 127 of whom had a CHD. We describe the methods that identified these cases and provide statistics on subtypes of anomalies. The data note contains details on the processes required for researchers to access these data.

Metabolomics datasets in the Born in Bradford cohort.

Metabolomics is the quantification of small molecules, commonly known as metabolites. Collectively, these metabolites and their interactions within a biological system are known as the metabolome. The metabolome is a unique area of study, capturing influences from both genotype and environment. The availability of high-throughput technologies for quantifying large numbers of metabolites, as well as lipids and lipoprotein particles, has enabled detailed investigation of human metabolism in large-scale epidemiological studies. The Born in Bradford (BiB) cohort includes 12,453 women who experienced 13,776 pregnancies recruited between 2007-2011, their partners and their offspring. In this data note, we describe the metabolomic data available in BiB, profiled during pregnancy, in cord blood and during early life in the offspring. These include two platforms of metabolomic profiling: nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. The maternal measures, taken at 26-28 weeks' gestation, can provide insight into the metabolome during pregnancy and how it relates to maternal and offspring health. The offspring cord blood measurements provide information on the fetal metabolome. These measures, alongside maternal pregnancy measures, can be used to explore how they may influence outcomes. The infant measures (taken around ages 12 and 24 months) provide a snapshot of the early life metabolome during a key phase of nutrition, environmental exposures, growth, and development. These metabolomic data can be examined alongside the BiB cohorts' extensive phenotype data from questionnaires, medical, educational and social record linkage, and other 'omics data.