Join Clare Flannery, MD, and Sonia Caprio, MD, as they reflect on decades of work with adolescents and type 2 diabetes. Caprio describes the importance of early diagnosis, shares main takeaways about diabetes risk, and thanks those who participated. Now, Flannery and Caprio want to know how they're doing in adulthood, driving the launch of the Legacy Collaborative.
About The Yale Legacy Collaborative
Early Health and Research Matters
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Our health journey begins early in life and can shape our future well-being. When metabolic health struggles start in childhood, they can lead to serious conditions later in life, including: type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, difficulties becoming pregnant, pregnancy complications, liver disease, certain cancers, heart disease, or dementia.
These health issues are increasingly affecting younger individuals. Understanding how to prevent and treat them early is critical.
That’s where the Yale Legacy Collaborative comes in. For over 30 years, we’ve partnered with more than 2,500 children and teens across Connecticut to learn more about metabolic health early in life. Their contributions are essential in advancing our understanding of what biological factors improve or worsen metabolic health in childhood.
Help Us Continue the Legacy
If you were part of a Yale metabolic health study as a child or teen, your contribution made a difference—and it still can. The Yale Legacy Collaborative is following up with participants like you to better understand how early health shapes your well-being in adulthood.
Now that you’re over 18, your story is more important than ever. Join us again and be part of the next chapter in groundbreaking research.
What Will the Legacy Collaborative Tell Us?
Our past research offered critical insights into how young bodies respond to sugar and insulin. Now, through the Legacy Collaborative, we aim to learn even more.
We seek to understand:
- Whether early-life factors predict type 2 diabetes
- How life events such as pregnancy affect risk
- What protects against or increases the chances of conditions like high blood pressure, sleep apnea, infertility, and certain cancers occurring in young adults
We’re paying special attention to women’s health, especially for those living with higher body weight over time.
Looking Ahead to a Healthier Future
The first studies began in 1990—and the work continues today. The Legacy Collaborative officially begins in 2025 and aims to continue for 30 years or more. Our goal is to partner with participants and researchers to build a healthier future by understanding the beginning.
Also, through this website, we invite everyone to:
- Learn the story behind the Legacy Collaborative and how it all began.
- Meet the researchers and advisory panel who drive our work.
- Explore our findings with easy-to-read project summaries and full research articles.
- Stay connected through our newsletters, featuring project updates and research highlights.
Participants in the Legacy Collaborative can email us with inquiries
Please update us with your new home address, phone number, or email