2000 Stories: Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study and Victorian Intergenerational Health Cohort Study (2000 Stories)
2000 Stories is a landmark longitudinal study spanning more than 30 years, comprised of the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study (VAHCS) and the Victorian Intergenerational Health Cohort Study (VIHCS).
The VAHCS was established in 1992, with a group of around 2000 Year 9 students (14 – 15 years of age) recruited across Victoria, Australia. The VAHCS surveys have created one of the most comprehensive pictures of adolescent development to date. Aspects of teenage health and behaviour investigated include mental health, personality and behaviour, school, family, and drug and alcohol use. This information has been used to improve the health of future generations by influencing policy and informing prevention programs.
The VIHCS, launched in 2006, is one of the first prospective multi-generational studies in the world to look at how a parent’s (VAHCS participant) lifestyle, health and behaviour before pregnancy (including the teenage years), as well as during and after pregnancy, might influence their child’s health and development. It is one of the first longitudinal studies of childhood psychosocial development to be embedded within an existing longitudinal study of parent development and aims to understand the processes that might influence many aspects of health and wellbeing across generations.
| Year | 2006-2013 | 2006-2013 | 2007-2014 | 2015-Ongoing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Antenatal | Postnatal | Infancy | Childhood |
| Age | 28-41 weeks gestation | 4-31 weeks | 50-77 weeks | 96-114 months |
| N | 806 | 877 | 975 | in progress |
| RELEVANT LIFECOURSE DOMAINS | Anthropometrics | |||
| Biosamples | Biosamples | |||
| Cardiovascular health | ||||
| Community environment | Community environment | |||
| Demographics | ||||
| Education and childcare | Education and childcare | |||
| Family environment | ||||
| Health services | ||||
| Medications and supplements | Medications and supplements | |||
| Mental health and behaviour problems | ||||
| Neurocognitive development | Neurocognitive development | |||
| Nutrition | ||||
| Other health information | ||||
| Peer relationships | ||||
| Physical activity | Physical activity | |||
| Pregnancy and birth | Pregnancy and birth | |||
| Psychosocial wellbeing | Psychosocial wellbeing | |||
| Puberty | ||||
| Romantic relationships | Romantic relationships | |||
| Screen and technology use | ||||
| Sleep | ||||
| Speech and language | ||||
| Substance use | Substance use | |||
| Temperament and personality | ||||
| Study Summary | |
|---|---|
| Study name | 2000 Stories: The Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study |
| Study abbreviation | VAHCS |
| Current principal investigator/s |
George Patton |
| Current project manager |
Carolina Murphy |
| Primary Institution/s |
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute - MCRI |
| Collaborating Institution/s |
The Royal Children’s Hospital - RCH |
| Major funding source/s |
National Health and Medical Research Council - NHMRC VicHealth Australian Rotary Health Mental Health of Young Australians Research Grant Australian Federal Government Department of Health and Ageing Murdoch Children’s Research Institute - MCRI |
| Study website | https://www.mcri.edu.au/2000-stories |
| Study focus |
Mental and physical health problems and risk behaviours in the adolescent to young adulthood transition, and whether pre-conception factors can predict child and parental outcomes into childhood in the next generation. |
| Sampling frame |
VAHCS is a eleven-wave cohort study which commenced in August 1992. At baseline, a representative sample of mid-secondary school adolescents (aged 14–15 years) across Victoria (Australia) were selected, using a two-stage cluster sampling procedure. |
| Primary study type | Longitudinal cohort |
| Year commenced |
1992 |
| Is this study ongoing? | Yes - the study is ongoing |
| Ongoing recruitment? | No |
| Sample size (N) |
From a sample of 2032 students, 1943 (95.6%) participated at least once during the first six (adolescent) waves and were eligible for adult follow-up. Of these participants, 1761 (90.6%) took part at least once in the young adult phase. |
| Survey data available? | Yes |
| Imaging data available? | No |
| Linkage to administrative dataset/s? | Yes, linkage to (at least one) administrative dataset completed |
| Biosamples available? | Yes |
| Are data available to others outside study team, with appropriate safeguards and structures in line with the cohort’s ethics and governance processes? | Yes |
| Are there any costs associated with data/sample access for approved requests? | There are usually no costs associated with access |
| Broadest type of participant consent available |
Specific consent (can be used for this project only) |
| Wave | Year | Age | Sample size (N) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1992 | 14.9 | N(Total)=898 |
| 2 | 1993 | 15.5 | N(Total)=1727 |
| 3 | 1993 | 15.9 | N(Total)=1697 |
| 4 | 1994 | 16.4 | N(Total)=1628 |
| 5 | 1994 | 16.8 | N(Total)=1575 |
| 6 | 1995 | 17.4 | N(Total)=1530 |
| 7 | 1998-1999 | 20.7 | N(Total)=1601 |
| 8 | 2001-2003 | 24.1 | N(Total)=1520 |
| 9 | 2006-2008 | 29.1 | N(Total)=1501 |
| 10 | 2012-2014 | 35.1 | N(Total)=1443 |
| 11 | 2019-2021 | 42.6 | N(Total)=1428 |
| Study Summary | |
|---|---|
| Study name | 2000 Stories: The Victorian Intergenerational Health Cohort Study |
| Study abbreviation | VIHCS |
| Current principal investigator/s |
George Patton |
| Current project manager |
Carolina Murphy |
| Primary Institution/s |
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute - MCRI |
| Collaborating Institution/s |
The Royal Children’s Hospital - RCH |
| Major funding source/s |
National Health and Medical Research Council - NHMRC Australian Rotary Health Mental Health of Young Australians Research Grant Colonial Foundation Murdoch Children’s Research Institute - MCRI |
| Study website | https://www.mcri.edu.au/2000-stories |
| Key reference for study | Spry, E., Olsson, C. A., Hearps, S., Aarsman, S., Carlin, J. B., Howard, L. M., Moreno-Betancur, M., Romaniuk, H., Doyle, L. W., Brown, S., Borschmann, R., Alway, Y., Coffey, C., & Patton, G. C. (2020). The Victorian Intergenerational Health Cohort Study (VIHCS): Study design of a preconception cohort from parent adolescence to offspring childhood. Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology, 34(1), 86–98. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppe.12602 |
| Study focus |
VAHCS explores the extent to which risks that emerge in these transition years of adolescence and young adulthood may predict pregnancy risks, birth outcomes, postnatal maternal mental health and maternal child attachment in the first year of life. VAHCS has now been extended with VIHCS to further follow up offspring in childhood, allowing us to examine the extent to which preconception predictors may predict child and parental outcomes at age 8 years. |
| Sampling frame |
The sample frame comprised all active members of the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort (VAHCS) who reported having a child between the recruitment phase (2006-2014). 1635 active study members were contacted at six-monthly intervals during the recruitment phase, via email, telephone and text message. Study members were invited to participate if they or their partner was pregnant or had a child born in the past 12 months. |
| Primary study type | Longitudinal cohort |
| Year commenced |
2006 |
| Is this study ongoing? | Yes - the study is ongoing |
| Ongoing recruitment? | No |
| Sample size (N) |
The commencement sample comprises all infants for whom one or more interviews were completed during the recruitment phase (Waves 1-3), totalling 1030 children born to 665 VAHCS parents. |
| Survey data available? | Yes |
| Imaging data available? | No |
| Linkage to administrative dataset/s? | Yes, linkage to (at least one) administrative dataset completed |
| Biosamples available? | Yes |
| Are data available to others outside study team, with appropriate safeguards and structures in line with the cohort’s ethics and governance processes? | Yes |
| Are there any costs associated with data/sample access for approved requests? | There are usually no costs associated with access |
| Broadest type of participant consent available |
Unspecified consent (can be used for any future ethically approved research) |
| Wave | Year | Age | Sample size (N) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antenatal | 2006-2013 | 28-41 weeks gestation | N(Total)=806 |
| Postnatal | 2006-2013 | 4-31 weeks | N(Total)=877 |
| Infancy | 2007-2014 | 50-77 weeks | N(Total)=975 |
| Childhood | 2015-Ongoing | 96-114 months | IN PROGRESS |
| Study Contacts | |
|---|---|
| Principal investigator/s |
George Patton |
| Project manager |
Carolina Murphy |
| Study Contact |
Email: 2000stories@mcri.edu.au |
| Study Contacts | |
|---|---|
| Principal investigator/s |
George Patton |
| Project manager |
Carolina Murphy |
| Study Contact |
Email: 2000stories@mcri.edu.au |