Biological data


In addition to the interviews, some families volunteer to do biological collections, from mothers at the maternity ward, and from the child at birth and in following years. This is meant to test the impact of environmental, nutritional, infectious and hormonal factors on the child’s health and their physical and motor development.

Summary of biological data collections at different waves

Maternity ward survey Age 3.5 survey 9.5 collection
  • Cord buffy coat
  • Maternal buffy coat
  • Maternal hair
  • Cord red blood cells
  • Milk
  • Meconium
  • Cord plasma
  • Maternal plasma
  • Cord blood
  • Maternal blood
  • Child’s stool
  • Cord serum
  • Maternal serum
  • Child’s urine
  • Child’s hair
  • Child’s stool
  • Child’s urine
  • Deciduous teeth

These samples are carefully collected and kept at biobanks. They can be made available to researchers, under strict conditions. Researchers with a scientific project that requires biological samples of human origin and data collected as part of Elfe need to sumbit their project to a committee dedicated to biology.

Please note that some analyses and samples have been done as part of the perinatal component of Santé Publique France’s national biomonitoring programme:

IMPRÉGNATION DES FEMMES ENCEINTES PAR LES POLLUANTS DE L’ENVIRONNEMENT EN FRANCE EN 2011 - Volet périnatal du programme national de biosurveillance mis en œuvre au sein de la cohorte Elfe. 

Volume 1: polluants organiques
Volume 2: métaux et métalloïdes

For more information on these samples, their use and past analyses: please write to contact @ elfe-france.fr