biology

Lothian birth-cohort studies

Lothian birth-cohort studies is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lothian birth-cohort studies rather than just read about it. In short: The Lothian birth-cohort studies are two ongoing cohort studies which primarily involve research into how childhood intelligence relates to intelligence and health in old age. The Lothian Birth Cohort studies of 1921 and 1936 have, respectively, followed up Lothian-based participants in the Scottish Mental Surveys of 1932 and 1947 in old age.

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Reference excerpt

The Lothian birth-cohort studies are two ongoing cohort studies which primarily involve research into how childhood intelligence relates to intelligence and health in old age. The Lothian Birth Cohort studies of 1921 and 1936 have, respectively, followed up Lothian-based participants in the Scottish Mental Surveys of 1932 and 1947 in old age. Scottish Mental Survey data has provided a measure of the intelligence of Lothian Birth Cohort participants at age 11, which has enabled the investigation of how childhood intelligence relates to cognition, mental health and physical health in old age. Major cognitive ageing findings of the studies have concerned the stability of intelligence from childhood to old age, the influence of genetics on cognitive function and decline, and the role of the brain's white matter integrity in successful cognitive ageing. The studies have also been at the vanguard of the field of cognitive epidemiology, which explores how intelligence relates to physical and mental health outcomes. The Lothian Birth Cohort studies are led by Ian Deary, the director of the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh.

Background The Lothian Birth Cohort (LBC) studies of 1921 (LBC1921) and 1936 (LBC1936) are follow-up studies of, respectively, the Scottish Mental Surveys (SMSs) of 1932 (SMS1932) and 1947 (SMS1947). The Scottish Mental Surveys, which were undertaken by the Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE), are the only attempts to date of any country to measure the intelligence of a complete year-of-birth in its population. By following up SMS participants in old age, the LBC studies have been able to effectively investigate long-term cognitive ageing and cognitive epidemiology due to the availability of a measure of participants' childhood intelligence. The Moray House Test No. 12, designed by Godfrey Thomson, was used in both Scottish Mental Surveys. It is a valid intelligence test that consists of 75 items of a variety of types including: following directions; word classification; analogies; practical items; reasoning; arithmetic; and spatial items.

Scottish Mental Surveys of 1932 and 1947 The SMS1932 was funded by the Carnegie Corporation as part of the International Examination Inquiry. It aimed to find out how many children in Scotland were "mentally deficient" and gather information on the entire distribution of intelligence in Scottish pupils. It was conducted on 1 June 1932, and tested the intelligence of almost all of Scotland's 1921-born population, 87,498 children in all. The SMS1947 was commissioned to test the theory that average intelligence in the United Kingdom was lower in the new generation due to a negative correlation between family size and the intelligence of children. It was carried out on 4 June 1947, and tested the intelligence of 70,805 children, nearly all of Scotland's 1936-born population.

Data rediscovery The SMS data was rediscovered by Ian Deary and Lawrence Whalley in the late 1990s. The data had been in the Charteris Land building of the Moray House School of Education at the University of Edinburgh, which was being rented by the SCRE. Recruitment for the Aberdeen area-based follow-up studies of the Scottish Mental Surveys, the Aberdeen Birth Cohorts of 1921 and 1936, began in 1997 and 1999 respectively.

Design and aims A core aim of the LBC studies is to explore causes of different cognitive ageing outcomes. They have also been used to facilitate a variety of psychosocial, medical and genetic investigations. Each wave of data collection typically includes: cognitive tests; socio-demographic information; health behaviours and health status; fitness measures; and physical measures. Metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers have also been taken in both cohorts. The studies have been funded by a variety of sources, including but not limited to the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Medical Research Council, the Scottish Government's Chief Scientist Office, Age UK and Research into Ageing.

Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 LBC1921 participant recruitment began in 1999. Participants were mainly recruited by tracing SMS1932 participants in the Edinburgh area using the Community Health Index (CHI), and then asking general practitioners to contact the traced potential LBC participants. The LBC1921 study's main initial aim was to find molecular genetic markers of healthy cognitive ageing. This included the investigation of the influence of the E4 allele on the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene on cognitive ageing as well as testing the effects of other candidate genes for cognitive ageing. A later research focus was examining relationships involving single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from genes linked to oxidative stress. The third and fourth waves of data collection were conducted with the main objective of testing the common cause hypothesis of cognitive ageing, which puts forward that age-related declines in physical and cognitive functioning share a common cause.

Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 LBC1936 participant recruitment started in 2004. Potential participants were identified using the CHI and then sent a letter about the study from the Lothian Health Board. The LBC1936 study began with the wider objective of investigating a diverse range of influences on cognitive ageing, including the effects of economic, medical, psychological and social variables. For Wave 2, a specific focus was placed on finding how the white matter of the brain becomes damaged and what relationship white matter damage has with age-related cognitive decline.

Findings As well as being used to research the topics of major findings outlined below, LBC data has been used in a diverse range of other investigations. For example, LBC1921 participants served as a control group in a study that validated of the use of the National Adult Reading Test as a measure of premorbid cognition in individuals with dementia. LBC1921 data has also been used to find that facial symmetry, as measured by fluctuating asymmetry, is linked to successful cognitive ageing. Data from both Lothian Birth Cohorts has been used to study changes over time in social class mobility and to find strong rank-order stability of personality traits in old age.

Stability of intelligence

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lothian birth-cohort studies

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lothian birth-cohort studies claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lothian birth-cohort studies before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lothian birth-cohort studies ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lothian birth-cohort studies

In research: Lothian birth-cohort studies appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lothian birth-cohort studies in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lothian birth-cohort studies is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Child welfare in Scotland, Cohort studies, Epidemiological study projects, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lothian birth-cohort studies outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

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