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The main objective of QLSCD is to identify the precursors of children’s social adaptation, school adjustment, and well-being throughout their developmental trajectory. This study has information on young children’s (now young adults) health, behaviour and many other aspects of their life.

The National Child Development Study (NCDS) is a longitudinal study which follows the lives of 17,000 people born in England, Scotland and Wales in a single week of 1958. Also known as the 1958 Birth Cohort Study, it collects information on physical and educational development, economic circumstances, employment, family life, health behaviour, wellbeing, social participation and attitudes.

Since the birth survey in 1958, there have been nine further ‘sweeps’ of all cohort members at ages 7, 11, 16, 23, 33, 42, 46, 50 and 55. In 2003 (at age 45), 9,000 cohort members also participated in a special bio-medical survey to learn more about how development, environments and lifestyles affect people’s health. CLS will carry out a new survey of the NCDS cohort at age 60 in 2018.

NCDS is part of CLOSER (Cohort & Longitudinal Studies Enhancement Resources) which aims to maximise the use, value and impact of the UK’s longitudinal studies.

The Uppsala Birth Cohort Multigeneration Study (UBCoS) started in 2005 when we were first able to combine existing data on a representative and well-defined cohort of 14,192 males and females born in Uppsala from 1915-1929 (the Uppsala Birth Cohort: UBCoS) with information on descendants of the original cohort members obtained from routine registers.

In 2007-2011, the study was further developed by additional data collection in school archives and records from Census 1930 and the period of follow-up was extended till end of year 2009.

The study is unique in investigating intergenerational effects as “forward in time” processes, starting at the beginning of the last century (i.e. well before any of the routine registers were in place). Intergenerational associations can be currently investigated in more than 140,000 study subjects from families spanning up to five generations, including the 14,192 original cohort members, their 22,559 children, 38,771 grandchildren and 25,471 great grandchildren born up to 2009.

The Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS) is a large-scale linkage study created using data from administrative and statistical sources. These include: census data from 1991 onwards; vital events data (births, deaths, marriages); NHS Central Register data (gives information on migration into or out of Scotland); and education data (including Schools Census and SQA data).

The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) provides a detailed picture of the health of the Scottish population in private households and is designed to make a major contribution to the monitoring of health in Scotland.
The series aims to:
• estimate the occurrence of particular health conditions
• estimate the prevalence of certain risk factors associated with health
• look at differences between regions and between subgroups of the population
• monitor trends in the population’s health over time
• make a major contribution to monitoring progress towards health targets

The Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS) is a large-scale, representative data-linkage study created by linking data from the Northern Ireland Health Card Registration system to the 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011 Census returns and to administrative data from other sources. These include vital events registered with the General Register Office for Northern Ireland (such as births, deaths and marriages) and the Health Card registration system migration events data. The result is a 30 year plus longitudinal data set which is regularly being updated. In addition to this rich resource there is also the potential to link further Heath and Social care data in our distinct linkage projects (DLPs).

Selection into the study is based on birth date (day and month): 104 dates throughout the year were selected and if an individual’s date of birth coincided with one of these they were included in the sample. The sample is large – c. 28% of the Northern Ireland population (approximately 500,000 individuals and accounting for approximately 50% of households).

The Northern Ireland Mortality Study (NIMS) is a large-scale data linkage study that links the 1991, 2001 and 2011 Census returns for the whole of the enumerated population (approximately 1.6 million individuals) to subsequently registered mortality data from the General Register Office (GRO). While larger than NILS it is more limited in scope, focusing only on the linkage of mortality data. It allows researchers to focus on more detailed analyses of specific cause of death, some of which may not be possible in NILS because of small numbers in sub-populations and the analysis of less common causes of death (e.g. accidental death). The NIMS dataset is recommended to researchers whose primary interest is in mortality in Northern Ireland. These data are maintained under the same conditions as the NILS and is accessible only under the same constraints.

The Health Survey for England series was designed to monitor trends in the nation’s health, to estimate the proportion of people in England who have specified health conditions, and to estimate the prevalence of risk factors associated with these conditions. The surveys provide regular information that cannot be obtained from other sources on a range of aspects concerning the public’s health. The surveys have been carried out since 1994 by the Joint Health Surveys Unit of NatCen Social Research and the Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at UCL. Individuals are asked for written consent to link their HSE records to mortality and cancer registration data (from HSE 1994 onwards) and to Hospital Episodes Statistics (from HSE 2003 participants onwards).

Each survey in the series includes core questions and measurements (such as blood pressure, height and weight, and analysis of blood and saliva samples), as well as modules of questions on topics that vary from year to year. New topics in 2014 year included hearing and mental health. The achieved sample for the 2014 survey was 8,077 adults (aged 16 and over) and 2,003 children (aged 0-15).

The Lifelines Cohort Study is a large population-based cohort study and biobank that was established as a resource for research on complex interactions between environmental, phenotypic and genomic factors in the development of chronic diseases and healthy ageing. The Lifelines cohort distinguishes a children’s cohort (aged 0-18), an adult cohort (aged 18-65) and the elderly cohort (aged 65+). The protocol for these three sub-cohorts is largely the same, but focuses in part on the characteristics of the specific participant groups.

Between 2006 and 2013, inhabitants of the northern part of The Netherlands and their families were invited to participate, thereby contributing to a three-generation design. Follow-up visits are scheduled every 5 years, and in between participants receive follow-up questionnaires. Linkage is being established with medical registries and environmental data. Lifelines contains information on biochemistry, medical history, psychosocial characteristics, lifestyle and more. Genomic data are available including genome-wide genetic data of 15638 participants. Fasting blood and 24-h urine samples are processed on the day of collection and stored at -80 °C in a fully automated storage facility. The aim of Lifelines is to be a resource for the national and international scientific community. Requests for data and biomaterials can be submitted to the Lifelines Research Office ([email protected]).

STROKOG is a consortium of longitudinal studies of cognitive disorders following stroke, TIA or small vessel disease. Developed under the auspices of VASCOG (Society for the Study of Vascular Cognitive and Behavioural Disorders), it is the first international effort to harmonise work on post-stroke dementia and is being led by CHeBA researchers.

The consortium brings together studies that have examined post-stroke or other high vascular risk cohorts longitudinally, with cognitive decline and dementia (including sub-types) as primary outcome variables. The included studies (N=27; total sample of more than 10,000 individuals, representing 17 countries) have rich neuropsychological and MRI data, and some recent studies (n=3) have included amyloid imaging in sub-samples. A number of studies have CSF and/or plasma available for biomarker studies, and participant enrolment in brain banks for neuropathology.

Last Update 21/09/2017

Between 1998 and 2002 the Survey team interviewed over 12,583 Southampton women aged 20 to 34 years. Those who became pregnant after interview were invited to take part in the pregnancy phase of the survey. Women received ultrasound scans at 11, 19 and 34 weeks of pregnancy, and their babies were measured soon after birth. There were 3,158 babies born to women in the study between 1998 and 2007. The survey has followed up these children with home visits at six months, one year, two and three years. A sample of over 1,000 children was seen at 4 years of age, more than 2,000 children at ages 6-7 years, and more than 1,000 at 8-9 years. Current follow-up of children at 11-13 years will continue for a number of years.

The aim is to learn more about the dietary,lifestyle, hormonal and omic factors that influence the health of women and their children.

Last Update 21/09/2017