COHORT PROFILE Cohort Profile: The Mauritius Child Health Project

The Mauritius Child Health Project is a prospective longitudinal study of child health and development based on a 1969 birth cohort of 1795 children. Originally set up by Professors P.V., S.M. and Fini Schulsinger in 1972, it has its conceptual origins in the successful High-Risk for Schizophrenia Project initiated in Denmark. Following the success of this project, the World Health Organization (WHO) Scientific Group on Neurophysiological Research in Psychiatry met in 1967 to assess whether neurophysiological methods could be applied to further highrisk studies. The WHO Group outlined the advantages of examining high-risk individuals early in childhood prior to the onset of clinical disorders, and recommended early experimental interventions to alter neurophysiological risk factors for psychopathology. The importance of malnutrition as well as poverty as stressors was highlighted, together with the potential benefits of enhancing educational and health services in a developing country. The recommendations of the Scientific Group’s 1968 report that formed the basis for the Mauritius study were: (i) conduct the study in a developing country; (ii) investigate 3-year-old children; (iii) establish nursery schools as settings for the study; and (iv) use psychophysiological methods to identify children at risk. The initial aim of the study, which would distinguish it from other high-risk studies, was to investigate the possibility of primary prevention of psychopathology by random assignment of 100 children to an environmental enrichment set up in nursery schools, involving better nutrition, more physical exercise and cognitive stimulation. P.V. has been the Principal Investigator (PI) of the project from 1972 to 1987, whereas A.R. has been PI from 1987 to the present date. Where is Mauritius?