The ambitious National Children's Study hopes to learn how the environment, genetics and other factors affect youngsters' health, especially development of such conditions as autism, asthma, learning disabilities, diabetes and obesity. Scientists will examine a range of factors, from the diets of pregnant women and young children to the effects of chemicals used in plastics.

Children and families in two Utah counties will participate: Researchers will start enrolling expectant mothers in Salt Lake County next spring, while Cache County will seek out participants starting in 2010. The study will enroll a total of 1,250 newborns in Salt Lake County and 1,000 in Cache County.

Edward Clark, principal investigator for the study in Salt Lake County, said he thinks Utah families will gladly enroll, despite the requirement to commit to 21 years of constant monitoring.

"Utah is a remarkable place for something like this," he said. "The study is something people will rally around. We know people will be willing to participate in the study to better children's health."

The children will undergo regular blood tests and check-ups. Researchers will also take frequent air, water, dust and dirt samples from their homes. Friday's announcement from National Institutes of Health about the first enrollments was a long-awaited step. The NIH also announced Uinta and Lincoln counties in Wyoming and Idaho's Bear Lake County are among new study locations, bringing the national total to 72.

Clark, chairman of pediatrics at the University of Utah and medical director of Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, will also serve as principal investigator for work in the Wyoming and Idaho counties.

Salt Lake County is a "Vanguard Center," one of the first seven sites announced when preparations for the study got under way in 2005.

Authorized by Congress in the Children's Health Act of 2000, the study has been delayed by tight federal budgets. Despite the current sagging economy, the study now seems secure, Clark said.

"We don't think funding is in jeopardy," he said. "Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have been instrumental in getting this funded."

The study will eventually include children in 105 locations throughout the U.S.; enrollment is expected to be complete nationally by the summer of 2010.

Within just a few years, federal officials said, the study will provide information on disorders of pregnancy and birth. Initial data on preterm births could come as early as 2012.

Enrollments will begin through the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, recruiting women from Duplin County, N.C., and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, recruiting in Queens County, N.Y.

In addition to Utah, the next wave of recruiting next spring will begin in pilot sites in parts of California, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Minnesota.

The study is being conducted by a consortium of federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and two NIH institutes: the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

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* CARLOS MAYORGA contributed to this report.

100,000 children to be studied

* The National Children's Study aims to track 100,000 children from before birth to age 21 to learn how the environment, genetics and other factors affect youngsters' health.

* The study will enroll a total of 1,250 newborns in Salt Lake County and 1,000 in Cache County.

* The study will eventually include children in 105 locations throughout the U.S.; enrollment is expected to be complete nationally by the summer of 2010.

"Utah is a remarkable place for something like this. The study is something people will rally around."

EDWARD CLARK, principal investigator for the study in Salt Lake County