Aberdeen Children of the 1950s 2026 application
Research type
Research Database
IRAS ID
366226
Contact name
Heather Clark
Contact email
Research summary
Aberdeen Children of the 1950s
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
26/NS/0034
Date of REC Opinion
13 Apr 2026
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 in2001. This information includes school test and medical records, data extracted from their birth records and some information on their social circumstances. 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. A further questionnaire has been designed to capture data on the cohort in later life.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 wellbeing. 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 cognitive aging and loneliness
Research database title
Aberdeen Children of the 1950s
Establishment organisation
University of Aberdeen
Establishment organisation address
King's College
Aberdeen
AB24 3FX