Emeritus Professor Jean Golding

Jean Golding is Professor of Paediatrics and Prenatal Epidemiology at the Institute of Child Health, University of Bristol. She is an outstanding prenatal and paediatric epidemiologist who has a world reputation for her large epidemiological studies in children. For many years she has led the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children (ALSPAC) that was designed to determine ways in which the individual’s genotype combines with environmental pressures to influence health and development. This study is leading to important new information about a diverse range of childhood events and illnesses from accidents, to allergy.




Studies on the FAB website authored by Professor Golding:


Fish-diet mothers have brighter children


Women who eat fish during pregnancy have brighter children, according to a study.


How a pioneering study of child health has influenced a generation of parents


Prof Jean Golding has been tracking the ‘Children of the 90s’ for nearly 30 years, most recently finding a 50% increase in rates of prenatal depression.


Autism is not linked to eating fish in pregnancy


A major study examining the fish-eating habits of pregnant women has found that they are not linked to autism or autistic traits in their children. Scientists looked at the assumption that mercury exposure during pregnancy is a major cause of autism using evidence from nearly 4,500 women who took part in the Children of the '90s study.

Emeritus Professor

Jean Golding
M.A.(Oxon.), Ph.D.(Lond.), D.Sc.(Bristol), F.S.S., F.F.P.H.M., M.R.C.P.C.H., F.Med.Sci.


Main Interests

Specialises in paediatric and perinatal epidemiology; neurocognitive development; environmental transgenerational effects; design of birth cohort studies