Cohort Profile Update: The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)

Key takeaways

(file:///C:\Users\scott\Zotero\storage\GLH54MZN\Sullivan%20et%20al_2023_Cohort%20Profile%20Update.pdf)

Bibliography: Sullivan, A., Brown, M., Hamer, M., Ploubidis, G.B., 2023. Cohort Profile Update: The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). International Journal of Epidemiology 52, e179–e186. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyac148

Authors:: Alice Sullivan, Matt Brown, Mark Hamer, George B Ploubidis

Collections:: UCL BCS Dump

First-page: 179

Abstract

The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) began in 1970 with data collection on the births and social circumstances of over 17 000 babies born in the UK. Cohort members who were born in Northern Ireland were included in the birth survey but dropped from the study in all subsequent sweeps. At the time of writing, the cohort members are in their early fifties.

Citations

content: "@sullivanCohortProfileUpdate2023" -file:@sullivanCohortProfileUpdate2023

Reading notes

Imported on 2024-05-07 21:39

⭐ Important

& The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) is an ongoing, multidisciplinary, longitudinal study of a cohort of over 17 000 births in England, Scotland and Wales. • The initial sample comprised all births in Britain in a single week in 1970. • Fifty years of follow-up provide opportunities for new research on social, economic and health outcomes in mid-life, their antecedents and generational change. • In the most recent face-to-face survey at age 46, 8581 study members took part. This included a survey interview, a range of bio-measures administered by a nurse, an online dietary diary and physical activity and sedentary behaviour monitoring using thigh-worn accelerometry. • Three COVID-19 web surveys were carried out over 2020–21. • BCS70 datasets are accessible via the UK Data Service: further information can be found at [https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/clsstudies/1970-british-cohort-study/]. (p. 179)
& Participants are survivors from the original sample of over 17 000 births, all born in the UK during 1 week in 1970. During childhood, cohort members were traced through schools, and immigrants born in the reference week were added to the target sample. Efforts have been made to maintain participant engagement through feedback mailings, birthday cards, study websites and social media. Efforts are made to trace lost participants through use of study records, internet searches, electoral records and administrative databases, but failure to trace individuals when they move is the main cause of attrition over time. (p. 181)
& Weaknesses include selective attrition, which is a consideration for all longitudinal studies. In addition, gaps in the series of national cohorts limit the scope for comparison across generations, as some generations are missing from the series. BCS70 was the third in a series of UK birth cohorts spaced 12 years apart (1946, 1958 and 1970). The intention was to continue the series at 12-year intervals, but a lack of political will and funding meant that 30 years passed before the next cohort emerged (the Millennium Cohort Study). The cancellation of a planned 2012 cohort led to a further gap in the series. However, the Early Life Cohort (ELC) and Children of the 2020s (COTS2020) are incipient additions to the birth cohorts series. (p. 185)