Born in Bradford (BiB)

Aims
Born in Bradford (BiB) is a large birth cohort study based at Bradford Royal Infirmary, a hospital in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire. The study was established in 2007 to examine how genetic, nutritional, environmental, behavioural and social factors impact on health and development during childhood, and subsequently adult life in a deprived multi-ethnic population.

Institution
National Health Service (NHS)

Geographic coverage - Nations
England

Geographic coverage - Regions
Bradford

Start date
2007

Catalogue record last updated
09/02/2026

Sample type
Pregnancy cohort

Sample details
All women booked for delivery at the Bradford Royal Infirmary were offered an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 26–28 weeks gestation. Around 80% took up this offer. Study information was given to women by their mid-wife at their booking appointment and they were invited to take part. On attendance at the OGTT clinic, full consent was obtained for recruitment to BiB, and the woman was invited to complete an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Between March 2007 and November 2010, over 80% of the women who attended the OGTT took up the invitation, and 12 453 women with 13 776 pregnancies were recruited to the cohort. All babies born to women who agreed to participate in the cohort study were eligible for recruitment.

Partners of the women who were recruited to the cohort were also invited to participate. Only a small proportion of fathers attended the OGTT clinic with their partners. Others were approached when they attended the hospital with their partner for other appointments or when a member of the study team visits the family home during follow-up visits.

Further recruitment began in 2022 for the "Age of Wonder" research programme. This programme has recruited students in year groups 8, 9 and 10 each academic year since 2022-23 from consenting secondary schools in the Bradford district. The consenting schools then collate data on all participants whose parents have not opted out and send it to the research team. The programme includes some members of the original BIB cohort, alongside newly recruited non-BIB children from these year groups. Age of Wonder aims to collect data from up to 30,000 adolescents over 7 years.

Sample size at recruitment
12,453 women with 13,776 pregnancies
13,818 births
3,448 fathers/partners
For more information see Wright et al. 2013.

Age of Wonder 2022-23
2,044 BIB members
2,910 non-BIB members

Sample size at most recent sweep
2017-2021 - Growing Up
5,594 (Adult surveys)
4,668 (Child surveys)
5,304 (Adult completed surveys about child)

Age of Wonder 2024-25
1,716 BIB members
7,481 non-BIB members

Sex
All

Age at recruitment
Birth

Cohort year of birth
2007-10

Website
borninbradford.nhs.uk

Related themes
Covid-19 data collection, Biomarkers, Cognitive measures, Diet and nutrition, Education, Ethnicity and race, Housing, Socioeconomic status and deprivation, Language and literacy, Migration and immigration, Neighbourhood, Physical health assessment, Digital technology and social media, Reproductive health, Work and employment, Parenting and family, Sleep problems, Social care - receipt, Social care - need