The Children of the 1950s study is a longitudinal cohort study managed by the University of Aberdeen. Comprising individuals born in Aberdeen, Scotland (UK) between 1950 and 1956, this cohort is based on over twelve thousand subjects who took part in a detailed survey of all children attending an Aberdeen primary school in December 1962. The data collected include information on birth weight, childhood height and weight, tests of cognition and behavioural disorder, and a range of multi-level socio-economic indicators.

The process of revitalising the cohort was commenced in 1998. The current vital status and whereabouts of 98.5% of the 12,150 subjects with full baseline data was ascertained . A postal questionnaire to all surviving cohort members was distributed in 2001, with a response proportion of 63%. Updates on deaths are received on a regular basis, and linkage to routinely collected hospital admissions and prescriptions is possible. Some contextual work was carried out relating to neighbourhood ,household and school level data.