Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease · Oct 26, 2026

The Raine Study: a multigenerational Western Australian birth and life-course cohort advancing research on the developmental origins of health and disease

By Lloyd R, Penova-Veselinovic B, O'Halloran S et al.

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) framework has transformed understanding of how early-life exposures shape health across the life course, yet populations from Oceania remain underrepresented in this research. The Raine Study is a globally unique, multigenerational longitudinal pregnancy cohort established in Western Australia, one of the world's most geographically isolated regions. The study recruited 2900 pregnant women (Generation1) in 1989, which resulted in 2868 live births forming Generation 2, and is now currently recruiting Generation 3 (the children of Generation 2). This paper describes the evolution of the Raine Study from its origins as a pregnancy cohort grounded in DOHaD to a comprehensive life-course and multigenerational research resource. This resource has led to key research findings that have informed international clinical guidelines and national and state health policies across areas including prenatal development and care safety, neurodevelopment, cardiometabolic health, obesity, liver disease, physical activity, mental health, sedentary behaviour, sleep, and assisted reproductive technologies. Central to the Raine Study's success is a longstanding commitment to participant partnership and engagement, resulting in exceptional retention and strong consumer involvement in governance and research prioritisation. The Raine Study demonstrates the critical value of well-characterised, place-based cohorts for advancing DOHaD and life-course science and provides a globally significant resource to inform prevention strategies, precision medicine, and public health policy across generations.

doi.org/10.1017/s2040174426100907Open accessPubMed 42929356AI & data