The (C)ELSPAC population study opens its fourth decade

For thirty years, scientists from the RECETOX research center at the Masaryk University Faculty of Science have been studying the factors that affect the health of South Moravian children. In the 90s, 7,500 families from Brno and Znojmo participated in the study. An additional 2,000 Brno families joined the follow-up studies in the last ten years. To commemorate the 30th anniversary, a celebration – Meeting of Generations, will be held during the Festival of Science at the Brno Exhibition Centre. At the event, the CELSPAC: 30 Years on the Road – The Story of a Generation book will be officially released.

The Meeting of Generations will take place as part of the Festival of Science at the Brno Exhibition Centre in the Rotunda Hall, Pavilion A, from 10:00 to 16:00 on Saturday, 10 September 2022. The event will start with a panel discussion with scientists and study participants. Jiří Kokmotos, the Czech Radio anchor, will interview scientists working at several world-class universities in the UK and the USA. The talk will focus not only on population studies but also on how the results of the studies are reflected in city life.

“We are grateful to all the families participating in the CELSPAC population studies. Researchers are learning more about the factors that affect human health thanks to them. We communicate the findings with the Brno City Council and the South Moravian Region. Representatives of local governments take this data and information into account in their political decisions,” explains Jana Klánová, Director of the RECETOX Centre.

The program will continue with the launch of the book CELSPAC: 30 Years on the Road – The Story of a Generation. The book, mapping 30 years of the study, will be released by musicians Pavel Čadek and Ondřej Havelka, actress Alena Antalová, Lubomír Kukla, the father of the Czech branch of the study, and Jana Klánová. “CELSPAC children, as we call our participants, deserve a special gift, and that is why we have written a book for them,” says Lenka Andrýsková, the coordinator of CELSPAC studies. The event will close with a musical performance by Brno singer-songwriters Pavel Čadek, Ondřej Havelka, and the Melody Makers.

The book CELSPAC: 30 Years on the Road – The Story of a Generation

We invite you to visit the RECETOX stand throughout the weekend, where scientists will measure everybody from head to toe. In addition to having their body measured with the Inbody device, those interested can have their leg arch or hand grip strength checked. Children can also try out the work of the lab technicians in the “Know Your DNA” experiment or put together a simple molecule.

World Health Organization (WHO) initiated the ELSPAC study in the 1990s in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the UK, Ukraine, Russia, and the Isle of Man. The longitudinal population-based study followed a generation of European children from pregnancy to adulthood. In 2012 the studies became CELSPAC. They are the cornerstone of the Brno Living Lab. Through scientific research and collaboration with authorities, politicians, companies, and most importantly, the citizens of Brno, RECETOX identifies and reduces the factors that negatively affect the health of citizens.