Preservation of the Boyd Orr Cohort Database Version 1
Research type
Research Database
IRAS ID
311578
Contact name
Richard Martin
Contact email
Research summary
Boyd Orr Cohort
REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/SW/0098
Date of REC Opinion
23 Aug 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion
Data collection arrangements
The Boyd Orr database contains the original and follow-up records of a survey carried out in 16 regions of England and Scotland in 1937-1939 – “The Carnegie Survey of Family Diet and Health in Pre-war Britain”.
In the early 1990s, using information recorded in the 1937-39 survey, approximately 85% of the 4999 study members were identified and flagged on the NHS Central Register. Flagging was carried about by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS, now ONS). We have received death and cancer notifications for flagged study members. Data recorded on the database include information on household diet, childhood health and body size and family living conditions in the 1930s (as recorded in the original study) and data on adult health, diet and social circumstances collected in follow-up studies the 1990s and 2000s. There has been no further data collection since2013.Research programme
The data are used by epidemiologists and statisticians to investigate associations of childhood diet, health, body size and living conditions with adult cause-specific mortality and cancer incidence. Highlights include our investigations of the long term effects on mortality / cancer risk of childhood overweight and obesity; infant feeding patterns (breast vs. bottle); and childhood fruit, vegetable, dairy product and energy intake. Updated information on cancer and mortality enable researchers to investigate longer term impacts of childhood living conditions.
Research database title
Boyd Orr Cohort
Establishment organisation
University of Bristol
Establishment organisation address
Canynge Hall
39 Whatley Road
Bristol
BS8 2PS