QUESTION: Whatever happened with the National Children’s Study announced in October 2010 that would follow more than 1,000 Oahu newborns and soon-to-be-borns until age 21 to study how environmental and genetic influences affect American children?

ANSWER: The University of Hawaii at Manoa Study Center of the National Children’s Study met its initial participation target of 100 families for a pilot study on Oahu since it started recruiting from a dozen Oahu communities in 2010.

“These families are at the leading edge of the study,” said Randy Obata, director of community affairs for the center. “And the nice thing is that they really want to do something to contribute to the knowledge base for improving children’s health care.”

Recruitment for the pilot, termed the Vanguard Study, finished last fall, Obata said. The oldest baby turns 2 this month, while the youngest is 4 months old.

The Vanguard Study will look at the feasibility, accountability and cost of recruitment strategies, study procedures and outcome assessments before starting the main study, which will include about 900 more Oahu families. No reports are currently available and the Vanguard Study will run concurrently with the main study.

Recruitment for the main study has not been scheduled, but Obata said it could start in “another year or so” and may not be limited to the dozen Oahu areas targeted for the pilot.

Recruitment and retainment are some of the biggest challenges with a large-scale, longitudinal study like this one, Obata said.

“Challenges going forward, first of all, stem from community awareness, so people know about the study and why it’s being done,” he said. “We need families to join the study. Another challenge will be keeping them in the study for the duration, which is 21 years. That’s a long time, but these are people who aren’t doing it for money. They’re doing it in the interest of health.”

Families in the study participate in scheduled telephone and in-home interviews every few months. As participants grow older, interviews become less frequent.

Obata added that starting March 31, UH-Manoa will no longer operate the NCS Study Center in Hawaii due to structural changes at the national level, but will continue its own companion studies on things like diet and health literacy. Westat, a Rockville, Md.-based research company, will assume operations for the western regional study center, one of four newly established regional centers, which includes 10 existing study centers.

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This update was written by Marcie Kagawa. Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To …” by writing Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or email cityeditors@staradvertiser.com.