Child Heart And health Study in England
What is the CHASE study? CHASE stands for `Child Heart And health Study in England’. The CHASE Study is examining the health of about 5000 primary school children living in London and the Midlands. It began in Summer 2004 and will continue until late 2006. The study is being done by a team from St George’s, University of London, with the support of the Wellcome Trust.
Why is the study being done? There has been considerable concern about the increase in the frequency of overweight, particularly among young people, and the effects this may have on the long-term health of children, particularly on their risk of conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. The CHASE Study will provide up-to-date evidence on current patterns of overweight in children, its influence on the early development of diabetes, heart disease and other important conditions in childhood (particularly asthma and other allergic conditions). It will also examine current patterns of diet and activity in children and relate these to the measurements being made. A particular aim of the study will be to provide information on the health of children in a wide range of social and ethnic groups.
Which schools have been chosen to take part and why? A sample of primary schools in London, Birmingham and Leicester has been very carefully selected to ensure that a balance of children of different social backgrounds and ethnic backgrounds (including children of South Asian, African and Caribbean origin) are invited to participate.
What will the study involve for participating schools? Our Research Team will visit all participating schools, generally for a single day, to measure the children who have agreed to take part. Schools are asked to help in distributing invitations to take part in the study and by providing space for the Research Team to work in. All materials for the study are prepared by the Research Team; none of the costs of the study will be borne by participating schools. To discuss practical arrangements, our Research Co-ordinator is visiting each school in advance.
Will participants need to give consent? Yes. Written informed consent is needed from the parent or guardian of all participants; parents and guardians are asked to discuss participation with their child.
Does the study have ethical approval? Yes. The study has been approved by the relevant Multicentre Research Ethics Committee and the approval has been notified to all relevant local Research Ethics Committees.
What will the study involve for participating children? Children will be asked to come to school slightly early if possible. They will be asked to have measurements of height, weight, body build, blood pressure and lung capacity. Finally, the children will be asked to provide a small blood sample, which will be taken using a local anaesthetic spray to keep any discomfort to an absolute minimum (with this most children do not notice the blood test at all). In order to obtain accurate results on the blood test, children will be asked to come to school on the morning of the study without eating - but breakfast will be provided after the measurements. Children will be given a badge and a certificate after taking part in the examination.
Why is the blood sample important? This will provide important information on blood cholesterol, blood sugar and other blood markers related to the heart and circulation and lungs, which cannot be obtained in other ways.
What happens if a child’s results are `abnormal’? This is uncommon, but occasionally a child is shown to have an unduly high blood pressure, blood cholesterol or blood glucose reading. In such cases the parent or guardian will be contacted directly and, subject to parental agreement, relevant information passed on to the child’s General Practitioner.
How will the results be used? The results will provide information both about the physical health of today’s young people and about their health-related habits, and about social and ethnic group differences in health. Results will be made available to those concerned with improving the health of children and will be published in appropriate health care journals. Results will be published in a summary form from which it will not be possible to identify individual children.
How will I be able to find out about the results of the study? As well as publishing the results of the study, we will send a newsletter to participating schools, to provide information about the key results. The newsletter will also be available on this website. Where appropriate, summaries at school or area level will be provided. However, no information will be made available from which individual subjects can be identified.
For more information contact Professor Peter Whincup (Study Director) or Rahat Rafiq (Research Co-ordinator) at the Department of Community Health Sciences, St George’s, University of London, London SW17 0RE, phone 020 8 725 5577 email chase@sgul.ac.uk.
Thank you for your interest in the CHASE Study.
