For Investigators

The Early Life Exposure in Mexico to ENvironmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) Project is a mother– child pregnancy and birth cohort originally initiated in the mid-1990s to explore: (1) whether enhanced mobilization of lead from maternal bone stores during pregnancy poses a risk to fetal and subsequent offspring neurodevelopment; and (2) whether maternal calcium supplementation during pregnancy and lactation can suppress bone lead mobilization and mitigate the adverse effects of lead exposure on offspring health and development. Over the past two decades, ELEMENT has widened its research aims to include additional exposures that affect the health of the mothers entering midlife, and the children entering young adulthood. Health exposures of interest have expanded to include environmental chemicals, physical activity, sleep, diet, and many more.

Between 1994 and 2003 1643 mother-child pairs were recruited and enrolled in our study during pregnancy or at delivery from maternity hospitals in Mexico City, Mexico. For more information on ELEMENT project and the ELEMENT cohort, please refer to the ELEMENT Cohort profile paper, led by our Co-Principle investigators Dr. Karen Peterson and Dr. Mara Téllez-Rojo.

Review here a list of grants that have funded the ELEMENT project since 1994.

Getting Started with ELEMENT Data

Our study has been collecting data on our participants for over two decades, which offers researchers a unique opportunity to conduct longitudinal studies on a variety of research topics. We welcome new investigators interested in using our data.

1) If you are interested in our data, we have a searchable database where you can look at what data we have available.

2) When you have developed a framework for a project, you can submit a project proposal form. After you have submitted the form, your project will be evaluated by our PIs and if approved it will be given a project number and you will be able to request data from our database manager.

Please Note: If you are at the University of Michigan and are not on the ELEMENT IRB you will need to be added prior to receiving data. If you are at another University or organization, we will need to create a Data Use Agreement (DUA) between your University or organization and the University of Michigan prior to sharing data.

If you have any questions regarding this process, reach out to our Research Data Coordinator.