MRC national survey of health and development (NSHD)

principal investigator
Professor Michael Wadsworth, Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development, Dept. of Epidemiology, University College London

5362 people born in 1946
Data available includes family characteristics, birth information and prospective data collections at ages 2,4,6,7,9,11,13,15,16,17,19,20,22,26,31,36,43 and 53. Detailed data on family, health (blood pressure, respiratory function, anthropometric measures, blood lipids, HbA1C, morbidity and mortality), exercise, smoking and diet have been collected along the life course.

During the EURO-BLCS study, data analysis will be carried out on the relationships between birth, lifestyle, and intermediate risk factors throughout the life course and CVD morbidity and mortality in this middle-aged cohort.

Unit web site: http://www.nshd.mrc.ac.uk/

Selected publications

Richards M, Hardy R, Kuh D, Wadsworth ME. Birth weight and cognitive function in the British 1946 birth cohort: longitudinal population based study. BMJ 2001;322:199203

Prynne CJ, Paul AA, Price GM, Day KC, Hilder WS, Wadsworth ME. Food and nutrient intake of a national sample of 4-year-old children in 1950: comparison with the 1990s.Public Health Nutr 1999 Dec;2(4):537-47

Wadsworth ME, Montgomery SM, Bartley MJ. The persisting effect of unemployment on health and social well-being in men early in working life. Soc Sci Med 1999 May;48(10):1491-9

Wadsworth ME, Kuh DJ. Childhood influences on adult health: a review of recent work from the British 1946 national birth cohort study, the MRC National Survey of Health and Development. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 1997 Jan;11(1):2-20

Kuh DJ, Wadsworth ME. Physical health status at 36 years in a British national birth cohort. Soc Sci Med 1993 Oct;37(7):905-16

Barker DJ, Osmond C, Golding J, Kuh D, Wadsworth ME. Growth in utero, blood pressure in childhood and adult life, and mortality from cardiovascular disease. BMJ 1989 Mar 4;298(6673):564-7