MIREC-ENDO is an invaluable resource for so many reasons. It is one of few studies that is able to investigate key public health questions, such as how does early life exposure to many different chemicals impact the timing of when kids go through puberty, how do these exposures impact risk of future cardiovascular disease and do diet and exercise help minimize any potential harmful effects? I am incredibly grateful to our participants for their commitment and dedication – the study can only go on with their continued involvement.
Jillian Ashley-Martin, PhD
Epidemiologist and Research Scientist, Health Canada
MIREC-ENDO, a critical
milestone for the MIREC
Research Platform
Many people believe that puberty is
beginning earlier and earlier, especially
in girls.
The reason for this trend remains unclear. Some suggest diet and body weight are potential factors, while others believe environmental chemicals may play a role. This is precisely what MIREC-ENDO is trying to understand.
We have now concluded Phase 1 and 2, and recruitment for Phase 3 is set to begin at the end of 2024.
Pregnancy may have long term effects on maternal health, including higher risks of hypertension or type 2 diabetes. Few studies have looked at how exposure to environmental chemicals during pregnancy might change those risks.
What do we expect
to learn?
We aim to learn about the factors that may affect the timing of puberty, body weight and metabolism for both mothers and their children. Some studies suggest a possible link between environmental chemicals and the likelihood of being overweight. We hope to shed some new light on this question.
We also aim to shed light on the complex relationships between pregnancy complications (for example, gestational diabetes and hypertension), environmental chemical exposures and long-term maternal health.
What is MIREC-
ENDO measuring?
MIREC-ENDO is designed to measure the timing of puberty and child development. Kids reach puberty at different ages, and the three phases will allow us to capture the starting point and progression of puberty for the participating MIREC children.
Why are MIREC
families best suited
to advance
science?
MIREC families were followed through pregnancy (MIREC) and critical periods of child development (MIREC-ID and MIREC-CD Plus), making them best suited to help our researchers study factors affecting early or delayed puberty, growth and metabolic health (MIREC-ENDO).
Metabolic health is determined by a number of factors that tell us how our bodies are using energy and how well our hearts are working. Although many studies in the world have followed children from birth through adolescence, MIREC is one of the few to include the pre-birth period.
Questions
and answers
Yes! All MIREC families are invited to participate in Phase 2. The only prerequisite is that you participated in the original MIREC study (2008-2011).
We want to make participating as easy as possible for you and your family. Like in our previous follow-up studies, there will be some questionnaires (which can be filled out at home!), some physical measurements and the collection of biospecimens.
Yes, you or your MIREC child can decide to skip the clinical visit and only do, for example, the questionnaires. We accommodate our participants’ busy schedules and appreciate what they can provide to this research.
We listened to your feedback and have cut down the length of visits. The clinic portion will take approximately 1 hour of your time.
Enrollment for
MIREC-ENDO Phase 2
is now complete
We ended recruitment for Phase 2 at the end of March 2024. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all the MIREC participants who were able to take part. In the next few months, MIREC-ENDO researchers will start analyzing the wealth of data collected from participants.
They will also finalize the planning of Phase 3, which is set to begin at the end of this year. We look forward to working again with MIREC families to continue our work in better understanding the effect of environmental contaminants on human health.
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