Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (LBC1936)

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 1936.

Institution
University of Edinburgh

Geographic coverage - Nations
Scotland

Geographic coverage - Regions
Edinburgh & The Lothians

Start date
1947

Catalogue record last updated
10/04/2024

Sample type
Cohort study

Sample details
The Scottish Mental Survey 1947 took place simultaneously across schools in Scotland on June 4, 1947, testing a total of 70,805 children aged 10/11. Between 2004 and 2007, individuals from Edinburgh and the Lothians who might have taken part in the 1947 Survey were invited to participate in the LBC1936. The Community Health Index (lists of individuals registered with a general practitioner) was used to identify 1936-born individuals, supplemented by media advertisements. In total, 1091 participants joined the LBC1936 and were assessed at Wave 1.

Sample size at recruitment
70,805 (Scottish Mental Survey 1947)
1,091 (LBC1936 Wave 1)

Sample size at most recent sweep
293 (2023 - Wave 6)

Sex
All

Age at recruitment
10-11 years

Cohort year of birth
1936