A study on the factors affecting the follow-up participation in birth cohorts.
- Author:
Bohyun PARK
1
;
Eun Jeung CHOI
;
Eunhee HA
;
Jong Hyuk CHOI
;
Yangho KIM
;
Yun Chul HONG
;
Mina HA
;
Hyesook PARK
Author Information
- Publication Type:Brief Communication
- Keywords: Birth cohort; Participation rate; Loss to follow-up
- MeSH: Cohort Studies*; Employment; Environmental Health; Follow-Up Studies*; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Mothers; Parturition*; Pregnancy; Premature Birth
- From:Environmental Health and Toxicology 2016;31(1):e2016023-
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: OBJECTIVES: A stable follow-up participation rate is a very important factor for validity in a cohort study. This study analyzed the factors that affect the participation rate at one hospital-based birth cohort in South Korean. METHODS: The participants were recruited from the Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health study between 2006 and 2010. The analysis targeted 1751 mothers who participated in a birth cohort. We conducted analyses of general characteristics during pregnancy and those of infants at birth that affect the participation rate of the 6-month follow-up survey. RESULTS: The participation rate for the 6-month follow-up survey was 60.4%. The participation rate in the follow-up of the subsequent period decreased within a 5% to 10% range compared to the number of subjects. The participation rate of premature infants was 16.9% lower than that of a full-term infant (52.6% vs. 69.5%). Analysis showed a 16.7% difference between the participation rate of low-birthweight infants in follow-ups (53.7%) and the participation rate of infants with normal weight (70.4%). The participation rate of mothers who were employed during pregnancy was significantly lower for the 6-month follow-up compared to the participation rate of mothers who were unemployed during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, factors such as premature birth, low-birthweight, and the employment status of the mother during pregnancy affected the participation rate of the follow-up survey for the birth cohort at six months. A specific strategy is needed to encourage survey participation for the high risk groups in the follow-ups.
