Aberdeen Children of the 1950s (2021 application)
Research type
Research Database
IRAS ID
291925
Contact name
Heather Clark
Contact email
Research summary
Aberdeen Children of the 1950s study
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
21/NS/0004
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jan 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion
Data collection arrangements
The ACONF (Aberdeen Children of the 1950s) research database is made up of information collected both in a survey carried out on all primary school children in Aberdeen in 1962, and a follow up of these children by questionnaire in 2001. This information includes school test and medical records, data extracted from their birth records and some information on their social circumstances. In later life, the 2001 questionnaire asked about their circumstances including health and wellbeing; lifestyle characteristics (e.g. smoking and drinking); employment and family. This data has also been linked to data describing the environment in the 1960s (i.e. from the census of the time) and to descriptive data relating to the relevant schools. The research team continue to collect information from death records, and are able to link to routine hospital records.
Research programme
The cohort is based in Aberdeen, but the information has been used extensively by researchers investigating life course epidemiology i.e. the influences, both biological and sociological, in early life and even across generations that affect later health and well being. The data has also been used collectively with other cohort information, for example to review the association between size at birth and risk of type II diabetes in later life. As the cohort ages there has been be a shift in focus, for example, researchers interested in cognitive ageing have already shown an interest in the cohort data.
Research database title
Aberdeen Children of the 1950s study
Establishment organisation address
University of Aberdeen and NHS Grampian
Polwarth Room: 1.126
Foresterhill, Aberdeen
AB25 2ZD