Cohort profile : the 1978–79 Ribeirao Preto (Brazil) birth cohort study

This birth cohort began as an epidemiological study of perinatal health in the city of Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. Baseline data were collected from 6973 individuals in 1978–79, and the participants have been followed up for 37–39 years to monitor the evolution of socioeconomic status, health and nutrition. Participants comprised all live-born infants in the city. There were four waves of follow-up: at school age in 1987–89, male conscripts aged 18 years in 1996–97, young adults aged 23–35 years in 2002–04 and adults aged 37–39 years in 2016–17. Participants less likely to be followed up were those with low birthweight or short length at birth, those born by vaginal delivery, those whose mothers had low levels of education, were smokers or were young, and those whose heads of family were in manual occupations. The cohort currently comprises 1775 individuals. The data collected cover physical health (body composition, bone mineral density, pulmonary function, blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction, asthma, allergy, sleep health and oral health), mental health, biomarkers of genetic and epigenetic samples, nutrition, non-communicable diseases, physical activity, behavioural risk factors, domestic violence, socioeconomic status and human capital