Lothian birth-cohort studies

[4] The studies have also been at the vanguard of the field of cognitive epidemiology,[5] which explores how intelligence relates to physical and mental health outcomes.

[9] 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.

[11] 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.

[7] The LBC1921 study's main initial aim was to find molecular genetic markers of healthy cognitive ageing.

[1] A later research focus was examining relationships involving single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from genes linked to oxidative stress.

[10] 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.

[1] 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.

[16] LBC1921 data has also been used to find that facial symmetry, as measured by fluctuating asymmetry, is linked to successful cognitive ageing.

[17] Data from both Lothian Birth Cohorts has been used to study changes over time in social class mobility[18] and to find strong rank-order stability of personality traits in old age.

[20] The most consistent genetic finding from the LBC studies has been that the E4 allele on the APOE gene, which had previously been known to be a risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease,[21] is also adversely linked to non-pathological cognitive function and change.

A GWA study of longitudinal cohorts, including the LBC1921 and the LBC1936, found that the APOE E4 allele was associated with deleterious cognitive change.

Lothian Birth Cohort data has also been a part of GWA studies for various medical outcomes including cancer, stroke, lung function, arterial pressure and platelet formation.

Specifically, white matter integrity in the splenium of the corpus callosum has been found to be a marker of healthy cognitive ageing.

[36] One of the strengths of the LBC study designs is that they enable tests of reverse causation in associations between intelligence and other variables.

In the LBC1921, age 11 Moray House Test scores correlated .66, .51 and .55 with scores at ages 79, 87 and 90 respectively. Age 79 scores correlated .7 with age 87 scores and .73 with age 90 scores. Age 87 scores correlated .87 with age 90 scores.
Path diagram of raw correlations [ 2 ] [ 7 ] [ 20 ] (displayed on the double-headed arrows) between Moray House Test scores at different ages (displayed within square boxes) in the LBC1921.
Apolipoprotein E.
Apolipoprotein E.
The structure of the white matter of the human brain.
The structure of the white matter of the human brain.