The ORIGINS Project is the largest study of its kind in Australia, following 10,000 children, from their time in the womb, over a decade to improve child and adult health.
The unique long-term study is one of the most comprehensive studies of pregnant women and their families in Australia, recruiting families who are receiving pregnancy care or planning to deliver their baby at Joondalup Health Campus, as well as families from the Joondalup and Wanneroo communities.
ORIGINS is following the progress of pregnant women, their partners and babies for the first five years of the baby’s life, and beyond, with an increasing understanding that an individual’s lifetime health and disease may be programmed at a very early stage – while a child is still in the womb.
Our researchers are not only investigating the prevention of disease but also looking to discover how every child and family can reach their full potential.
The total ORIGINS population will consist of more than 20,000 individuals within family units - including mothers, partners, children and siblings.
The ORIGINS Project
The ORIGINS Project
Team
ORIGINS Project projects
Reports and Findings
Urinary Ferritin as a Noninvasive Means of Assessing Iron Status in Young Children
Iron deficiency (ID) is the most common nutritional deficiency affecting young children. Serum ferritin concentration is the preferred biomarker for measuring iron status because it reflects iron stores; however, blood collection can be distressing for young children and can be logistically difficult. A noninvasive means to measure iron status would be attractive to either diagnose or screen for ID in young children.
Published research Early Childhood Development Nutrition Nutrition in Early Life ORIGINS Subsite: ORIGINS ProjectRetrospective Examination of Peripubertal Return for Patients of Western Australia's Gender Diversity Service
Children far in advance of pubertal development may be deferred from further assessment for gender-affirming medical treatment until nearer puberty. It is vital that returning peripubertal patients are seen promptly to ensure time-sensitive assessment and provision of puberty suppression treatment where appropriate.
Published research ORIGINS Gender Diversity Youth Mental Health Youth mental healthProbiotic supplementation in neonates and long-term gut colonisation: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials
Probiotic supplementation in the neonatal period results in improved gut colonisation with probiotic bacteria in the short term. There is limited information on the long-term sustainability of this colonisation.
Published research Early Childhood Development Nutrition ORIGINSNature Connection: Providing a Pathway from Personal to Planetary Health
The vast and growing challenges for human health and all life on Earth require urgent and deep structural changes to the way in which we live. Broken relationships with nature are at the core of both the modern health crisis and the erosion of planetary health. A declining connection to nature has been implicated in the exploitative attitudes that underpin the degradation of both physical and social environments and almost all aspects of personal physical, mental, and spiritual health.
Published research ORIGINS Mental health Physical activity