NCT01869530

Brief Summary

TARGet Kids! (The Applied Research Group for Kids) is a research study enrolling healthy children aged 0-5 years. The aim of the TARGet Kids! registry is to link early life exposures to health problems including obesity, micronutrient deficiencies, and developmental problems. TARGet Kids! represents an innovative collaboration between child health researchers and children's primary care doctors (pediatricians and family physicians) to promote research that really matters and create solutions to some of the today's biggest health concerns. The results of this collaborative research study are not only improving the quality of children's healthcare but also the health of children across the country. Coordinated by Sick Kids and St. Michael's Hospital with data management services by the Applied Health Research Centre (AHRC), TARGet Kids! is the only primary care research network for children in Canada.

Trial Health

77
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
14,000

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for all trials

Timeline
50mo left

Started Jul 2008

Longer than P75 for all trials

Geographic Reach
1 country

3 active sites

Status
recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress81%
Jul 2008Jun 2030

Study Start

First participant enrolled

July 1, 2008

Completed
4.9 years until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

May 28, 2013

Completed
8 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

June 5, 2013

Completed
17 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

June 1, 2030

Expected
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

June 1, 2030

Last Updated

November 17, 2021

Status Verified

November 1, 2021

Enrollment Period

21.9 years

First QC Date

May 28, 2013

Last Update Submit

November 9, 2021

Conditions

Nutritional DisordersObesityDevelopment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Body Mass Index (BMI)

    Change in BMI over a 10 year follow-up period

    10 years (yearly measurements)

Secondary Outcomes (8)

  • Nutrition

    Yearly measurements

  • Development

    Yearly measurements

  • Mental Health

    Yearly measurements

  • Lifestyle Factors

    Yearly measurements

  • Child Behavior

    Yearly measurements

  • +3 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (1)

Healthy children

Eligibility Criteria

AgeUp to 5 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsChild (0-17)
Sampling MethodNon-Probability Sample
Study Population

Children are recruited from 12 pediatric and family medicine primary care practices in Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

You may qualify if:

  • Birth to less than 6 years of age
  • Parental consent
  • Attending a TARGet Kids! research network practice

You may not qualify if:

  • Chronic illness with the exception of asthma

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (3)

St. Michael's Hospital

Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8, Canada

RECRUITING

Hospital for Sick Children

Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8, Canada

RECRUITING

Melville Pediatric Center

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

RECRUITING

Related Publications (20)

  • Borkhoff CM, Imsirovic H, Bayoumi I, Macarthur C, Nurse KM, To T, Feldman M, Lau E, Knight B, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Parkin PC. Developmental screening at 18 months using the Nipissing District Developmental Screen. Paediatr Child Health. 2025 May 11;30(6):477-485. doi: 10.1093/pch/pxaf023. eCollection 2025 Sep.

    PMID: 41049705DERIVED

  • Kucab MD, Keown-Stoneman CD, Birken CS, Perlman M, Parsons J, D'Annunzio D, Thadani S, Allen CA, Maguire JL; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Center-Based Childcare in Early Childhood and Nutritional Risk in Later Childhood: A Prospective Cohort Study. J Nutr. 2025 Dec;155(12):4530-4539. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.09.028. Epub 2025 Sep 27.

    PMID: 41022151DERIVED

  • Nurse KM, Parkin PC, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Bayoumi I, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Macarthur C, Borkhoff CM. Association Between Family Income and Positive Developmental Screening Using the Infant Toddler Checklist at the 18-Month Health Supervision Visit. J Pediatr. 2024 Jan;264:113769. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2023.113769. Epub 2023 Nov 1.

    PMID: 37821023DERIVED

  • Palumbo AM, Kirkwood D, Borkhoff CM, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Muraca GM, Fuller A, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Brown HK, Anderson LN; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Validation of Parent-reported Gestational Age Categories for Children Less Than 6 Years of Age. Epidemiology. 2023 Nov 1;34(6):767-773. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000001645. Epub 2023 Sep 26.

    PMID: 37757868DERIVED

  • Braddon KE, Keown-Stoneman CD, Dennis CL, Li X, Maguire JL, O'Connor DL, Omand JA, Simpson JR, Birken CS. Maternal Preconception Body Mass Index and Early Childhood Nutritional Risk. J Nutr. 2023 Aug;153(8):2421-2431. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.06.022. Epub 2023 Jun 24.

    PMID: 37356500DERIVED

  • Kucab MD, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Birken CS, Perlman M, Maguire JL; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Centre-based childcare in early childhood and growth in later childhood: a prospective cohort study. Int J Obes (Lond). 2023 Aug;47(8):724-731. doi: 10.1038/s41366-023-01316-2. Epub 2023 Apr 27.

    PMID: 37106078DERIVED

  • Omand JA, Li X, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Borkhoff CM, Duku E, Lebovic G, Maguire JL, Mamdani MM, Parkin PC, Reid-Westoby C, Randall Simpson J, Tremblay MS, Janus M, Birken CS; TARGet Kids! Study Group. Body Weight at Age Four Years and Readiness to Start School: A Prospective Cohort Study. Child Obes. 2023 Jun;19(4):267-281. doi: 10.1089/chi.2022.0018. Epub 2022 Jul 13.

    PMID: 35834646DERIVED

  • Omand JA, Janus M, Maguire JL, Parkin PC, Aglipay M, Randall Simpson J, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Duku E, Reid-Westoby C, Birken CS. Nutritional Risk in Early Childhood and School Readiness. J Nutr. 2021 Dec 3;151(12):3811-3819. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxab307.

    PMID: 34587245DERIVED

  • Hamid JS, Atenafu EG, Borkhoff CM, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Bohn MK, Adeli K, Abdelhaleem M, Parkin PC. Reference intervals for hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume in an ethnically diverse community sample of Canadian children 2 to 36 months. BMC Pediatr. 2021 May 19;21(1):241. doi: 10.1186/s12887-021-02709-w.

    PMID: 34011305DERIVED

  • Bayoumi I, Birken CS, Nurse KM, Parkin PC, Maguire JL, Macarthur C, Randall Simpson JA, Borkhoff CM. Screening for marginal food security in young children in primary care. BMC Pediatr. 2021 Apr 23;21(1):196. doi: 10.1186/s12887-021-02674-4.

    PMID: 33892660DERIVED

  • Gunaseelan V, Parkin PC, Wahi G, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Macarthur C, Borkhoff CM; Members of the TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Maternal ethnicity and iron status in early childhood in Toronto, Canada: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Paediatr Open. 2020 Apr 6;4(1):e000635. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000635. eCollection 2020.

    PMID: 32509978DERIVED

  • Birken CS, Omand JA, Nurse KM, Borkhoff CM, Koroshegyi C, Lebovic G, Maguire JL, Mamdani M, Parkin PC, Randall Simpson J, Tremblay MS, Duku E, Reid-Westoby C, Janus M; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Fit for School Study protocol: early child growth, health behaviours, nutrition, cardiometabolic risk and developmental determinants of a child's school readiness, a prospective cohort. BMJ Open. 2019 Nov 19;9(11):e030709. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030709.

    PMID: 31748293DERIVED

  • Parkin PC, Koroshegyi C, Mamak E, Borkhoff CM, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Thorpe KE; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Association between Serum Ferritin and Cognitive Function in Early Childhood. J Pediatr. 2020 Feb;217:189-191.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.09.051. Epub 2019 Nov 2.

    PMID: 31685227DERIVED

  • Wong VCH, Maguire JL, Omand JA, Dai DWH, Lebovic G, Parkin PC, O'Connor DL, Birken CS; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. A Positive Association Between Dietary Intake of Higher Cow's Milk-Fat Percentage and Non-High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Young Children. J Pediatr. 2019 Aug;211:105-111.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.03.047. Epub 2019 May 17.

    PMID: 31104850DERIVED

  • Sypes EE, Parkin PC, Birken CS, Carsley S, MacArthur C, Maguire JL, Borkhoff CM; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Higher Body Mass Index Is Associated with Iron Deficiency in Children 1 to 3 Years of Age. J Pediatr. 2019 Apr;207:198-204.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.11.035. Epub 2019 Jan 7.

    PMID: 30630632DERIVED

  • Oatley H, Borkhoff CM, Chen S, Macarthur C, Persaud N, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Parkin PC; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Screening for Iron Deficiency in Early Childhood Using Serum Ferritin in the Primary Care Setting. Pediatrics. 2018 Dec;142(6):e20182095. doi: 10.1542/peds.2018-2095.

    PMID: 30487142DERIVED

  • Borkhoff CM, Dai DWH, Jairam JA, Wong PD, Cox KA, Maguire JL, Birken CS, Macarthur C, Parkin PC; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Breastfeeding to 12 mo and beyond: nutrition outcomes at 3 to 5 y of age. Am J Clin Nutr. 2018 Aug 1;108(2):354-362. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqy124.

    PMID: 30101330DERIVED

  • Eny KM, Chen S, Anderson LN, Chen Y, Lebovic G, Pullenayegum E, Parkin PC, Maguire JL, Birken CS; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Breastfeeding duration, maternal body mass index, and birth weight are associated with differences in body mass index growth trajectories in early childhood. Am J Clin Nutr. 2018 Apr 1;107(4):584-592. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqx081.

    PMID: 29635496DERIVED

  • Anderson LN, Carsley S, Lebovic G, Borkhoff CM, Maguire JL, Parkin PC, Birken CS. Misclassification of child body mass index from cut-points defined by rounded percentiles instead of Z-scores. BMC Res Notes. 2017 Nov 28;10(1):639. doi: 10.1186/s13104-017-2983-0.

    PMID: 29183360DERIVED

  • Vanderhout SM, Birken CS, Parkin PC, Lebovic G, Chen Y, O'Connor DL, Maguire JL; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Relation between milk-fat percentage, vitamin D, and BMI z score in early childhood. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Dec;104(6):1657-1664. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.116.139675. Epub 2016 Nov 16.

    PMID: 27852618DERIVED

Related Links

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Nutrition DisordersObesity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Nutritional and Metabolic DiseasesOverweightOvernutritionBody WeightSigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Central Study Contacts

Catherine Birken, MD, M.Sc., FRCPC

CONTACT

416-813-7654catherine.birken@sickkids.ca

Dalah Mason, MPH

CONTACT

416-813-7654dalah.mason@sickkids.ca

Study Design

Study Type
observational
Observational Model
COHORT
Time Perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Target Duration
10 Years
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Staff Paediatrician

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

May 28, 2013

First Posted

June 5, 2013

Study Start

July 1, 2008

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2030

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2030

Last Updated

November 17, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-11

Locations

CA(3)