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On 1st June 1932, as part of the Scottish Mental Survey, 87,498 Scottish schoolchildren born in 1921 sat the same test of mental ability: the Moray House Test. In 1997, the Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh began to search for men and women still living in Scotland who took part in these tests.
On 1st June 1998, about 80 individuals gathered in the Aberdeen Music Hall to re-sit the test exactly 66 years later. Participants were followed-up 5 times over a 10 year period.

Aberdeen University has followed all of the children born in Aberdeen in 1921, 1936 (see Aberdeen Birth Cohort 1936) and 1950-1956 (see Aberdeen Children of the 1950s) as they grow and age.
Collectively these groups are known as the ABERDEEN BIRTH COHORTS, and have helped to advance our understanding of aging well.

Over the years, researchers have linked the results from these tests to health and social information.
The linked data has been used to answer questions like:
Does being born very small affect mental health later in life?
Is the risk of dementia related to childhood intelligence?
What influences quality of life in old-age?
Participants born in 1921 and 1936 have been invited back for a wide variety of studies at the University. Similar research is being started for the Children of the 1950’s group.

On 4th June 1947, as part of the Scottish Mental Survey, every Scottish schoolchild born in 1936 sat the same test of mental ability: the Moray House Test. In 1997, Professor Lawrence Whalley discovered the Scottish Mental Survey test records at the Scottish Council for Research in Education in Edinburgh and began to trace people who had sat the test in Aberdeen.

The health of the agricultural population has been previously explored, particularly in relation to the farming exposures and among professionally active individuals. However, few studies specifically focused on health and aging among elders retired from agriculture. Yet, this population faces the long-term effects of occupational exposures and multiple difficulties related to living and aging in rural area (limited access to shops, services, and practitioners). However, these difficulties may be counter-balanced by advantages related to healthier lifestyle, richer social support and better living environment. The general aim of the AMI cohort was to study health and aging in elderly farmers living in rural area through a multidisciplinary approach, with a main focus on dementia.

The study started in 2007, with two follow-up visits over 5 years. Baseline visits were conducted at home by a neuropsychologist then by a geriatrician for all cases suspected of dementia, for all subjects suspected of being demented. The 10-year visit is currently on going.

The British Women’s Heart and Health Study is a prospective cohort study of heart disease in over 4000 British women between the ages of 60 and 79. It is funded by the British Heart Foundation. The Study aims to provide information about existing patterns of treatment of heart disease, and further the understanding of risk factors and disease prevention. We collected our baseline data in 1999-2001, and have been tracking the cohort since. Participants have been re-contacted through questionnaires or assessment in 2003, 2007 & 2010.

The aim of the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) project is to identify the neural mechanisms underpinning successful cognitive ageing. The study recruitment participants over 18 from resident within Cambridge City and used epidemiological, behavioural, and neuroimaging data to understand how individuals can best retain cognitive abilities into old age. A major aim of the research programme is to understand the nature of brain-cognition relationships across the lifespan, and to highlight the importance of abilities that are maintained into old age.

This population study was not designed to have repeated measures for each participant, but rather as one extended and comprehensive study visit that took place over 3 stages.

The Canberra Longitudinal Study is a 12 year study into the health and memory of older people which commenced in 1990, with subsequent waves in 1994, 1998 and 2002. The 2002 wave was the last time that participants were approached for interviews – the youngest participant in 2002 was 82 years of age.

The Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES) is a nationally representative longitudinal survey of health and lifecourse experiences of 2,827 Costa Ricans ages 60 and over in 2005. Baseline household interviews were conducted between November 2004 and September 2006, with 2-year follow-up interviews.

The main study objective was to determine the length and quality of life, and its contributing factors in the elderly of Costa Rica.
CRELES uses public data files containing information on a broad range of topics including self-reported physical health, psychological health, living conditions, health behaviours, health care utilization, social support, and socioeconomic status. Objective health indicators include anthropometrics, observed mobility, and biomarkers from fasting blood and overnight urine. Mortality events are tracked and conditions surrounding death are measured in a surviving family interview (longitudinal follow-up data are not yet publicly available).

For the Esprit study, 1863 non-institutionalized persons aged 65 years and over were randomly recruited in 1999 from the Montpellier district electoral rolls, and re-examined 6-times at 2-3 yearly intervals. Objectives:

1) To determine current and lifetime prevalence as well as incidence of psychiatric disorder in the elderly;
2) to determine the risk factors for these disorders, their relative weight and interactions;
3) to study clinical heterogeneity;
4) to estimate the probability of transition towards a subsyndromic state or a given pathology;
5) to elaborate predictive etiological models.

The purpose of this project is to describe changes in health and functioning among older people. Living conditions and life-style are studied as predictors of health, functioning, need of care and mortality. This multidisciplinary study includes several prospective arms. In 1988 a random sample of people aged 65-84 years were interviewed in their homes. Follow up interviews for them were conducted in 1996 and 2004. During the same years 65-69 year old people were interviewed to capture cohort changes in aging. In 1989 all men born before 1924 and every other woman living in nursing home were interviewed. In 1989 all 75-year-old and 1990 all 80-year-old residents of Jyväskylä were studied in the laboratory with extensive functional testing and clinical examinations. The 75-year-old people were followed up after 5, 10 and 15 years and the 80-year-olds after 5 and 10 years. In addition, register-based data on hospital and long-term care is being updated until the entire cohort becomes extinct. Altogether, 2500 have participated in these studies.

The main objective of the FINGER study is to find out if a multi-domain intervention could prevent cognitive decline among older people. With this intervention we also aim to investigate the effect of the multidomain intervention on disability, quality of life, depressive symptoms, the use of health care services and vascular risk factors.

Participants of the FINGER study have previously taken part in population-based non-intervention studies. They have an increased risk of cognitive decline. At the beginning of the study they are 60-77 years old. The FINGER study enrols approximately 1200 participants in six centers in Finland: Helsinki, Kuopio, Oulu, Seinäjoki, Turku and Vantaa.