Hertfordshire Birth to Death Cohort Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Hertfordshire Birth to Death Cohort Study (HSCIC Ref 278)
IRAS ID
174667
Contact name
Cyrus Cooper
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
78 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Research Summary
The Hertfordshire Birth Cohort comprises C37000 people born between 1911 and 1939 who were overseen in early childhood by health visitors in the county. Records kept at the time have survived, and the cohort are flagged for continuous notification of death. Thus, the relationship of growth and health in infancy to eventual cause of death can be explored.
Three analyses have been published to date (See REC_5_paper_1-3):
Barker DJ, Winter PD, Osmond C, Margetts B, Simmonds SJ. Weight in infancy and death from ischaemic heart disease. Lancet 1989;2:577-80. (1186 deaths among 5654 men)
Osmond C, Barker DJ, Winter PD, Fall CH, Simmonds SJ. Early growth and death from cardiovascular disease in women. BMJ 1993;307:1519-24. (2472 deaths among 16416 men and women)
Syddall HE, Sayer AA, Simmonds SJ, Osmond C, Cox V, Dennison EM, Barker DJ, Cooper C. Birth weight, infant weight gain, and cause-specific mortality: the Hertfordshire Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol 2005;161:1074-80. (7916 deaths among 37615 men and women)
Over half the cohort have now died, thus future analyses will have increased statistical power.
IT IS THIS BASIC STUDY ON WHICH A REC OPINION IS REQUIRED.In addition, subsets of surviving members of the cohort totalling around 5000 have attended clinics to characterise their health and genotype, allowing us to investigate lifecourse influences on ageing as well as mortality among these men and women. An extract of Hospital Episode Statistics has been obtained for 3000 of them covering the period between their clinic attendance and 31/03/10. These studies are covered by independent ethical consents, a list of which is attached (See REC_6_consent summary 1-2); collectively they have yielded over 200 scientific publications. Mortality data obtained from HSCIC as described above contribute to the analysis files of these studies and are used administratively to track attrition of the cohort through death.
Summary of Results
This study linked information on study participants' early life (including their birthweight and weight at one year) with their lifestyle and health from the age of about 60. From this work we were able to consider the importance of lifestyle factors such as diet, cigarette smoking and levels of physical activity to age at death, and to consider the role of different medical conditions to risk of death. We studied relationships between individual's perception of their own health and mortality, and looked at the different relationships between poor muscle or bone health and mortality. These analyses will help support public health interventions designed to support individuals in their 60s, to live a long and healthy life. For more information on the Hertfordshire Cohort Study and our findings please see https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fclick.pstmrk.it%2F3ts%2Fwww.mrc.soton.ac.uk%252Fherts%252F%2FNBTI%2FzsO2AQ%2FAQ%2F39d558a4-7f57-4ee5-b6f0-4aca65679a74%2F2%2Fy5a7RSGaz5&data=05%7C02%7Ccambsandherts.rec%40hra.nhs.uk%7Cbbd5cbb54ad14bfa7c7d08dca80db2f1%7C8e1f0acad87d4f20939e36243d574267%7C0%7C0%7C638570023993926573%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=d6C87KG88ansF46%2FFFf45XyK2sZi%2BhG835QxrKBKpws%3D&reserved=0
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EE/0256
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion