Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

The participants of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 were recruited to the project because they had taken part in the Scottish Mental Survey 1947. This followed the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932 from which the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 was established.
The surveys had, respectively, tested the intelligence of almost every child born in 1921 or 1936 and attending school in Scotland in the month of June in those years. Tracing, recruiting and re-testing people who had taken part in the Surveys offered a rare opportunity to examine the distribution and causes of cognitive ageing across most of the human life course.

The LBC1936 began in 2004 and recruited 1091 of the 70,805 individuals who had taken part in the 1947 survey. The LBC1936 have been examined at mean ages of 70, 73, 76 and 79 years. The cohort has a wide range of variables: genome-wide genotyping, demographics, psycho-social and lifestyle factors, cognitive functions, medical history and examination, biomarkers (from blood and urine) and a detailed structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan.

Last update: 08/12/2016

Types General population-based cohort
Participant Types No diagnosis
Countries United Kingdom
Genders Male and Female
Sample sizes 0 to 4,999
Ages 0 to 9|10 to 19|20 to 39|40 to 59|60 to 100
Brain related measures Behaviour|Cognitive function|Mental health|Neurological
Funtional rating Individual physiological|Individual psychological
Anthropometric Blood pressure|Height|Weight
Physical Cardiovascular|Hearing and Vision|Musculoskeletal|Respiratory
Biological samples Blood|Other|Urine
Genotyping Gene screening
Brain imaging Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Brain banking Consent for brain donation
Lifestyle Alcohol|Dietary habits|Physical activity|Smoking
Socio-economic Education|Ethnic group|Family circumstances|Housing and accommodation|Marital status|Occupation and employment|Unpaid care
Health service utilisation
Institute names University of Edinburgh
Current Sample Sizes 0 to 4,999

age at recruitment 11
last updated
recruitment period 1947
estimated current sample size number value 1091
cohort acronym LBC1936
start date 1947
pi Professor Ian Deary
website http://www.lothianbirthcohort.ed.ac.uk/
contact details Department of Psychology
The University of Edinburgh,
7 George Square,
Edinburgh,
Scotland,
EH8 9JZ
abstract  The LBC1936 began in 2004; it recruited 1091 participants from the Scottish Mental Survey 1947. The focus of the study is cognitive ageing and encompasses a wide range of variables.
funders  Age UK
Medical Research Council (MRC)
contact email PI Email: [email protected]
contact phone number 
estimated current sample size 0 to 4,999
sample sizes 1947