Australia’s largest, longest-running and most significant study of the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the Aboriginal Birth Cohort study (ABC), has begun its fifth wave of data collection.

The ABC study, conducted by the Life Course Studies team at Menzies School of Health Research, has been following 686 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people born in the Royal Darwin Hospital between 1987-1990 from birth onwards, with a plan to follow them through sickness and health for the rest of their lives.

Now in its 32nd year, the ABC study continues to visit the study participants regularly to explore a range of biomedical and social themes. These relate to chronic diseases such as diabetes, kidney and heart disease and includes mental health.

Chief investigator Professor Gurmeet Singh said the main aim was to relate early life health to later health and disease.

“The study began in 1987 and has monitored the health of our cohort as babies through to childhood, their teen years and now well into adulthood.

“These longitudinal studies are looking for the earliest signs of chronic disease in those most at risk and noting the age at which these appear,” she said.

Early identification will help to tailor interventions for key groups and at the most appropriate time to get maximum benefit from therapies.

The fifth follow-up wave will continue to follow the progress of these 686 people, as well as 196 non-Indigenous participants of the Top End Cohort who are now aged between 28 and 32 years.

“Young people in these studies will undergo a comprehensive health check including body measurements, ultrasounds, blood pressure, blood and urine tests, emotional wellbeing assessments, and for the first time in the study, eye tests,” Professor Singh said.

The Menzies research team has started data collection in Darwin and over the next two years will visit more than 40 urban and remote communities across the Top End where the remainder of the participants live.

For information about previous waves of the study, visit lifecoursemenzies.net.au/studies.