The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children - A resource for COVID-19 research: Questionnaire data capture April-May 2020

Kate Northstone; Simown Howarth; Daniel Smith; Claire Bowring; Nicholas Wells; Nicholas John Timpson

doi:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16020.2

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children - A resource for COVID-19 research: Questionnaire data capture April-May 2020

Wellcome Open Res. 2020 Nov 20:5:127. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16020.2. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Kate Northstone¹, Simown Howarth², Daniel Smith¹, Claire Bowring¹, Nicholas Wells¹, Nicholas John Timpson^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Population Health Science, Bristol Medical SChool, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.
² Bristol Dental School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS1 2LY, UK.
³ MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Department of Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.

Abstract

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a prospective population-based cohort study which recruited pregnant women in 1990-1992. The resource provides an informative and efficient setting for collecting data on the current coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In early March 2020, a questionnaire was developed in collaboration with other longitudinal population studies to ensure cross-cohort comparability. It targeted retrospective and current COVID-19 infection information (exposure assessment, symptom tracking and reported clinical outcomes) and the impact of both disease and mitigating measures implemented to manage the COVID-19 crisis more broadly. Data were collected on symptoms of COVID-19 and seasonal flu, travel prior to the pandemic, mental health and social, behavioural and lifestyle factors. The online questionnaire was deployed across parent (G0) and offspring (G1) generations between 9 ^th April and 15 ^th May 2020. 6807 participants completed the questionnaire (2706 original mothers, 1014 original fathers/partners, 2973 offspring (mean age ~28 years) and 114 offspring partners). Eight (0.01%) participants (4 G0 and 4 G1) reported a positive test for COVID-19, 77 (1.13%; 28 G0 and 49 G1) reported that they had been told by a doctor they likely had COVID-19 and 865 (12.7%; 426 G0 and 439 G1) suspected that they have had COVID-19. Using algorithmically defined cases, we estimate that the predicted proportion of COVID-19 cases ranged from 1.03% - 4.19% depending on timing during the period of reporting (October 2019-March 2020). Data from this first questionnaire will be complemented with at least two more follow-up questionnaires, linkage to health records and results of biological testing as they become available. Data has been released as: 1) a standard dataset containing all participant responses with key sociodemographic factors and 2) as a composite release coordinating data from the existing resource, thus enabling bespoke research across all areas supported by the study.

Keywords: ALSPAC; COVID-19; Children of the 90s; birth cohort study; coronavirus; mental health; online questionnaire.

Grants and funding

The work was supported by the Wellcome Trust through core support to ALSPAC [102215]. The UK Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. This publication is the work of the authors and Kate Northstone will serve as guarantor for the contents of this paper. A comprehensive list of grants funding is available on the ALSPAC website (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/external/documents/grant-acknowledgements.pdf). This work was also supported by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research, University of Bristol.