Identifying biomarkers of neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes in a prospective longitudinal cohort of South African children: design and feasibility of the Safe Passage BONO study

作者：Priscilla Estelle Springer, Lucy T. Brink, Mandy Potter, Wendy Mackay, Petrusa C. Smit, Carlie du Plessis, Julia Koziel, Teresa Del Bianco, Bethany F. M. Oakley, Rianne Haartsen, Emily J H Jones, Marcus Robert Munafo, Hein J. Odendaal, Declan G. Murphy, Eva Loth · 发表于：Pilot and Feasibility Studies · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1186/s40814-026-01790-1 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects、Child Abuse and Trauma、Folate and B Vitamins Research

BACKGROUND: Early adversities before and after birth can impact children's cognitive and socioemotional development by altering critical brain maturational and functional processes. Some of these processes may be linked to later neurodevelopmental and/or mental health conditions. While most research is conducted in high-income countries, the majority of children live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where they are more frequently exposed to poverty-related adversities. To address this gap, well-characterised longitudinal pregnancy cohorts in LMICs are needed to track trajectories of neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions in children exposed to cumulative environmental adversities. The Safe Passage Study (SPS) originally enrolled 7060 pregnant women from socioeconomically disadvantaged peri-urban communities in Cape Town, South Africa, to investigate the association between prenatal alcohol, multiple environmental risk factors and pregnancy outcome. The Safe Passage-Biomarkers of Neurodevelopmental Outcomes (BONO) study aims to follow up 2000 SPS children, aged 4-16 years, to assess the role of pre- and postnatal environmental factors in cognitive, neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes. This report outlines the design and results of a feasibility study with 100 children, primarily aimed to confirm recruitment, assess participant retention, select measures and establish criteria for a deep-phenotyping visit. METHODS: Between March and October 2019, 1...