Cohort studies of Faroese children concerning potential adverse health effects after the mothers’ exposure to marine contaminants during pregnancy

Background
Toxicological evidence suggests that humans are much more vulnerable to adverse effects from exposures to pollutants that occur during development, i.e., prenatally or in early childhood. However, the adverse effects may not be immediately apparent and often are expressed fully only when physiological functions have matured. Accordingly, research in environmental epidemiology now emphasizes prospective research, in this case based on birth cohorts. Given the advantages of conducting such research in the Faroe Islands, we have therefore generated five birth cohorts. In addition, we have used available records on whaling during the past century to clarify prenatal methylmercury exposure of elderly people on the basis of availability.