eLIXIR BiSL - How early life data is changing our understanding of health

The Early Life Cross-Linkage in Research, Born in South London (eLIXIR BiSL) project uses opt-out consent to collect routine maternity and neonatal clinical patient data, mental health data and primary care data. It is also collecting blood samples from mothers to build a unique bioresource that can be used to investigate the underlying biological processes involved in pregnancy and those influenced by environmental factors. NIHR Maudsley BRC and King’s College London researchers are already using this valuable resource.

In this blog Principal Investigators Professor Lucilla Poston and Professor Laura A Magee, along with Research Associate Tisha Dasgupta explores the potential of the eLIXIR cohort to enable research to address health inequalities and improve services.

It is increasingly well recognised that early life, including even the period before birth, can have a profound impact on both physical and mental health in later life. Yet, despite ongoing advances, a clear understanding of the physiological mechanisms behind this relationship remains largely elusive. Researchers from the eLIXIR Born in South London project based at King’s College London are working to change this.

What is eLIXIR BiSL?

The Early Life Cross-Linkage in Research, Born in South London (eLIXIR BiSL) project led by Professor Lucilla Poston, King’s College London, began in 2018, with the aim of following a cohort of pregnant women and their future children throughout their lives. eLIXIR can be thought of as a large and dynamic database that safely connects medical records from NHS trusts across South London. This includes routinely-collected information from maternity wards, neonatal care units, GP surgeries, mental health services, and even blood samples in collaboration with Genomics England. Importantly, all of this information is collected with informed consent, fully deidentified, and stored in a secure online environment, following strict national laws to ensure the privacy and anonymity of every participating individual.

Big data can have a big impact

Collecting this medical data at such a large scale is a bit like putting together lots of different pieces of a puzzle, helping the researchers to understand how the early stages of development can shape physical and mental health across an entire lifetime. The team can explore the impact of factors ranging from maternal stress and nutrition to COVID-19, ultimately offering insights to support our healthcare system to provide more effective, more personalised strategies for prevention and treatment.

Addressing health inequalities

The eLIXIR project was born in South London, where the local boroughs are among the most richly diverse, yet also the most deprived, in the country. Many families are facing challenges due to socioeconomic, cultural and environmental factors, all contributing towards unequal access to healthcare, and this is reflected in poorer-than-average outcomes amongst local pregnant women and their infants.

By analysing data that is truly representative of the South London population, eLIXIR aims to make the experiences of every family in South London heard and duly recognised in medical research. Such work will drive improvements to the healthcare system that benefit everyone, particularly those who may have been underserved in the past. To this end, the project also engages with service users in the wider community through an active patient and public involvement group, ensuring the research remains grounded in real-world needs.

What’s next for eLIXIR?

With over 80,000 pregnancies now included in the dataset and funding from organisations such as the Medical Research Council (MRC), National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), eLIXIR is rapidly becoming one of the most valuable and granular resources for early-life research. Since launching the team has expanded nationwide, now collaborating on more than twenty active studies from investigating COVID-19's impact on fetal brain development, to understanding ethnic differences in maternal mental health. 

Furthermore, as the eLIXIR children,and their mothers, grow older, the team continues to expand the database. They are currently in the process of linking to Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and the National Pupil database (NPD), to create an even more comprehensive picture of how early-life health influences long-term educational and social outcomes.

Get Involved

Collaboration is at the core of eLIXIR’s work. If you are interested in using the database for research or want to learn more, please contact the eLiXIR-BiSL team at Lucilla.poston@kcl.ac.uk, Study Principal Investigator, tisha.dasgupta@kcl.ac.uk, Study Coordinator, or through the HDRUK website, Dataset - Health Data Research Innovation Gateway.