Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 (LBC1921)

Aims
The Lothian Birth Cohorts (LBC) of 1921 and 1936 are follow-up studies of the Scottish Mental Surveys of 1932 and 1947. The surveys had, respectively, tested the intelligence of almost every child born in 1921 or 1936 and attending school in Scotland in those years. Therefore, tracing and re-testing people who had taken part in the Surveys much later in their lives offered a rare opportunity to examine the distribution and causes of cognitive ageing across most of the life course. The studies were initially set up to study the determinants of non-pathological cognitive ageing, rather than focussing principally on dementia or other pathological cognitive disorders. This page provides information about LBC 1921.

Institution
University of Edinburgh

Geographic coverage - Nations
Scotland

Geographic coverage - Regions
Edinburgh & The Lothians

Start date
1932

Catalogue record last updated
10/04/2024

Sample type
Cohort study

Sample details
The Scottish Mental Survey 1932 took place simultaneously across schools in Scotland on June 1, 1932, and tested a total of 87,498 children aged 10/11. Almost 70 years later, individuals who had potentially taken part in the survey were identified in Edinburgh and the surrounding area (the Lothians) and invited to participate in the LBC1921. Participants were identified using the Community Health Index (lists of individuals registered with a general practitioner) or through media advertisements. In total, 550 participants, 234 men and 316 women, joined the LBC1921 and completed Wave 1 assessments between 1999 and 2001.

Sample size at recruitment
87,498 (Scottish Mental Survey 1932)
550 (LBC1921 Wave 1)

Sample size at most recent sweep
59 (2013 - Wave 5)

Sex
All

Age at recruitment
10-11 years

Cohort year of birth
1921