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Background: We explored associations between possible demographic and socioeconomic causes of religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviours (RSBB) in the offspring generation of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).Methods: We examined approximately 4,450 offspring aged 28 years with RSBB data from a prospective birth cohort study (ALSPAC) in Southwest England. Three RSBB outcome measures were assessed: religious belief (belief in God/a divine power; yes/not sure/no), religious affiliation (Christian/none/other) and religious attendance (frequency of attendance at a place of worship). We explored age- and sex-adjusted associations between 35 demographic and socioeconomic exposures and each of the three RSBB outcomes using multinomial regression. Exposure-sex interactions were also examined.Results: Some sociodemographic factors were associated with RSBB in this cohort; for instance, being female and from an ethnicity other than White were associated with increased religiosity across all domains. For many other exposures, however, associations were frequently null or inconsistent, often depending on the specific exposure and outcome combination. As an example, higher educational attainment was associated with higher rates of religious attendance, but not with religious belief or affiliation; in contrast, higher income was associated with lower levels of religiosity. No consistent interactions between sex and the exposures on RSBB were found. Effect sizes were also rather weak, with most pseudo-R2 values below 0.5% and a maximum of 1.2%.Conclusions: The results highlight that several demographic and socioeconomic factors are associated with RSBB in this cohort. However, the number of these associations, and their magnitude, is smaller than comparable results from the parental generation of these offspring, suggesting that patterns of sociodemographic factors associated with RSBB differ between these generations. In addition to describing these associations, this paper will help inform future studies using these data, particularly regarding the choice of potential sociodemographic confounders.

Metabolomics is the quantification of small molecules, commonly known as metabolites. Collectively, these metabolites and their interactions within a biological system are known as the metabolome. The metabolome is a unique area of study, capturing influences from both genotype and environment. The availability of high-throughput technologies for quantifying large numbers of metabolites, as well as lipids and lipoprotein particles, has enabled detailed investigation of human metabolism in large-scale epidemiological studies. The Born in Bradford (BiB) cohort includes 12,453 women who experienced 13,776 pregnancies recruited between 2007-2011, their partners and their offspring. In this data note, we describe the metabolomic data available in BiB, profiled during pregnancy, in cord blood and during early life in the offspring. These include two platforms of metabolomic profiling: nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. The maternal measures, taken at 26-28 weeks’ gestation, can provide insight into the metabolome during pregnancy and how it relates to maternal and offspring health. The offspring cord blood measurements provide information on the fetal metabolome. These measures, alongside maternal pregnancy measures, can be used to explore how they may influence outcomes. The infant measures (taken around ages 12 and 24 months) provide a snapshot of the early life metabolome during a key phase of nutrition, environmental exposures, growth, and development. These metabolomic data can be examined alongside the BiB cohorts’ extensive phenotype data from questionnaires, medical, educational and social record linkage, and other ‘omics data.

Additional file 2: Figure S1. IVW Mendelian randomization estimates, and age, sex and BMI-adjusted multivariable regression estimates for the associations between short sleep duration and 113 NMR derived metabolites. Figure S2. Comparison of the point estimates of the IVW Mendelian randomization and age, sex and BMI-adjusted multivariable regression analyses for the associations between short sleep duration and 113 NMR derived metabolites. Figure S3. Mendelian randomization and age, sex and BMI-adjusted multivariable regression analyses results for select associations of short sleep duration with NMR metabolites. Figure S4. IVW Mendelian randomization estimates and age, sex and BMI adjusted multivariable regression estimates for the associations between long sleep duration and 113 NMR derived metabolites. Figure S5. Comparison of the point estimates of the IVW Mendelian randomization and age, sex and BMI-adjusted multivariable regression analyses for the associations between long sleep duration and 113 NMR derived metabolites. Figure S6A. Mendelian randomization and age, sex and BMI-adjusted multivariable regression analyses results for select associations of long sleep duration with NMR metabolites. Figure S6B. Mendelian randomization and age, sex and BMI adjusted multivariable regression analyses results for select associations of long sleep duration with NMR metabolites.