Newcastle University

Project:

The Newcastle Thousand Families Birth Cohort

From May 1947
Project Leader(s): Dr Mark Pearce
Contact: Dr Mark Pearce (Mark.Pearce@ncl.ac.uk)
Sponsors: Current follow-up phase: JGW Patterson Foundation, Breathe North, Action on Hearing Loss, Breath North Appeal

The Thousand Families birth cohort is a longitudinal epidemiology study that began in 1947 and remains under follow-up.  Although it began as a study of health in infancy, it has evolved over the years into what is now a study considering health in the seventh decade of life. 

Planning for the study began in the 1930’s when Newcastle had a high infant mortality rate compared to the rest of the UK.  Professor Sir James Spence identified that the reason was acute infections and set up the Thousand Families study to investigate the risk factors for such infections. 

The start of the study was delayed by the Second World War, but got underway in May 1947 when recruitment began for a one-year study of health in infancy, with the setting of the infant in the context of the family of particular consideration. 

Spence’s team recruited all 1142 babies born to mothers resident within the city of Newcastle Upon Tyne in May and June 1947 and began to collect detailed information on these children and their familial environment.  Red spots were placed on their medical records to ensure that health information was passed on to the study team whenever it was updated.  For this reason, the study members became know as ‘the red spots’.  Although originally planned for just one year, the study continued throughout childhood prospectively collecting a wide range of detailed information on these children, initially up to age 15.

Further smaller-scale follow ups took place at ages 22 and 32, before a full-scale follow-up of the cohort took place at age 50.  Two further follow-ups of parts of the cohort took place at age 54 (a study of endothelial function) and in 2005 the women in the cohort who had taken part at age 50 were asked for permission to access their mammography films and to complete a questionnaire concerning lifetime exposure to oestrogens.  A further full-scale follow up took place at age 62-63 years. 

The latest follow-up of the NTFS resulted in large amounts of information on each individual to add to the existing extensive body of data. In addition to lifecourse modelling of health outcome data (including liver, respiratory and thyroid function, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, periodontal disease, cognitive function, hearing, fatigue, psychological well-being and biomarkers of ageing) this work will also involve assessing changes in health status between the ages of 50 and 62 years in relation to changes in other markers of health status and lifestyle factors over the same time period.

Contact
Thousand.families@ncl.ac.uk
(0191) 282 1353

Publications

• Pearce MS, Mann KD, Martin-Ruiz C, Parker L, White M, von Zglinicki T, Adams J. Childhood Growth, IQ and Education as Predictors of White Blood Cell Telomere Length at Age 49-51 Years: The Newcastle Thousand Families Study. PLoS One 2012, 7(7), e40116.
• Pearce MS, McConnell JC, Potter C, Barrett LM, Parker L, Mathers JC, Relton CL. Global LINE-1 DNA methylation is associated with blood glycaemic and lipid profiles. International Journal of Epidemiology 2012, 41(1), 210-217.
• Pearce MS, Mann KD, Relton CL, Francis RM, Steele JG, Craft AW, Parker L. How the Newcastle Thousand Families birth cohort study has contributed to the understanding of the impact of birth weight and early life socioeconomic position on disease in later life. Maturitas 2012, 72(1), 23-28.
• Pearce MS, Ahmed A, Tennant PWG, Parker L, Unwin NC. Lifecourse predictors of adult fibrinogen levels: the Newcastle Thousand Families Study. International Journal of Cardiology 2012, 155(2), 206–211.
• Abraham AM, Pearce MS, Mann KD, Francis RM, Birrell F. Ultrasound features of osteophytes and cartilage thickness at the knee are associated with pain and functional impairment: the Newcastle thousand families study. In: Annual Meeting of the British Society for Rheumatology. 2012, Glasgow, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Pearce MS, Groom A, Relton CL, Peaston RT, Pollard TM, Francis RM. Birth weight and early socio-economic disadvantage as predictors of sex hormones and sex hormone binding globulin in men at age 49–51 years. American Journal of Human Biology 2011, 23(2), 185-189.
• Forrest LF, Hodgson S, Parker L, Pearce MS. The influence of childhood IQ and education on social mobility in the Newcastle Thousand Families birth cohort. BMC Public Health 2011, 11(1), 895.
• Mann KD, Tennant PWG, Parker L, Unwin NC, Pearce MS. The relatively small contribution of birth weight to blood pressure at age 49-51 years in the Newcastle Thousand Families Study. Journal of Hypertension 2011, 29(6), 1077-1084.
• Pearce MS, Relton CL, Groom A, Peaston RT, Francis RM. A lifecourse study of bone resorption in men ages 49-51 years: The Newcastle Thousand Families cohort study. Bone 2010, 46(4), 952-956.
• Pearce MS, Thomson WM, Walls AWG, Steele JG. Lifecourse Socio-economic Mobility and Oral Health in Middle Age. Journal of Dental Research 2009, 88(10), 938-941.
• Owen CG, Whincup PH, Kaye SJ, Martin RM, Smith GD, Cook DG, Bergstrom E, Black S, Wadsworth MEJ, Fall CH, Freudenheim JL, Nie J, Huxley RR, Kolacek S, Leeson CP, Pearce MS, Raitakari OT, Lisinen I, Viikari JS, Ravelli AC, Rudnicka AR, Strachan DP, Williams SM. Does initial breastfeeding lead to lower blood cholesterol in adult life? A quantitative review of the evidence. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2008, 88(2), 305-314.
• Tennant PWG, Gibson GJ, Pearce MS. Lifecourse predictors of adult respiratory function: Results from the Newcastle Thousand Families Study. Thorax 2008, 63(9), 823-830.
• Starr JM, Shiels PG, Harris SE, Pattie A, Pearce MS, Relton CL, Deary IJ. Oxidative stress, telomere length and biomarkers of physical aging in a cohort aged 79 years from the 1932 Scottish Mental Survey. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development 2008, 129(12), 745-751.
• Blell M, Pollard TM, Pearce MS. Predictors of age at menarche in the Newcastle thousand families study. Journal of Biosocial Science 2008, 40(4), 563-575.
• Pearce MS, Relton CL, Unwin NC, Adamson AJ, Smith GD. The relation between diarrhoeal episodes in infancy and both blood pressure and sodium intake in later life: The Newcastle Thousand Families Study. Journal of Human Hypertension 2008, 22(8), 582-584.
• Adams JM, Martin-Ruiz CM, Pearce MS, White M, Parker L, von Zglinicki TW. No association between socio-economic status and white blood cell telomere length. Aging Cell 2007, 6(1), 125-128.
• Tiffin PA, Pearce MS, Kaplan CA, Fundudis T, Parker L. Recollections of parental style and perceptions of current family functioning at age 50. Journal of Family Therapy 2007, 29(2), 169-182.
• Tiffin PA, Pearce MS, Caplan K, Fundudis T, Parker L. The impact of socioeconomic status and mobility on perceived family functioning. Journal of Family and Economic Issues 2007, 28(4), 653-667.
• Pearce MS, Deary IJ, Young AH, Parker L. Childhood IQ and deaths up to middle age: The Newcastle Thousand Families Study. Public Health 2006, 120(11), 1020-1026.
• Mason J, Pearce MS, Walls AWG, Parker L, Steele JG. How do factors at different stages of the lifecourse contribute to oral-health-related quality of life in middle age for men and women?. Journal of Dental Research 2006, 85(3), 257-261.
• Pearce MS, Unwin NC, Parker L, Alberti KGMM. Life course determinants of insulin secretion and sensitivity at age 50 years: the Newcastle Thousand Families Study. Diabetes/Metabolism Research Reviews 2006, 22(2), 118-125.
• Hayes L, Pearce MS, Unwin NC. Lifecourse predictors of normal metabolic parameters in overweight and obese adults. International Journal of Obesity 2006, 30(6), 970-976.
• McIntyre, E. A., Parker, L., Pearce, M. S., Gerrard, J., Sattar, N., Craft, A. W., Walker, M. Relation between birth weight and soluble markers of endothelial function in middle aged subjects. Heart 2006, 92(5), 679-680.
• Tuck SP, Pearce MS, Rawlings DJ, Birrell FN, Parker L, Francis RM. Differences in bone mineral density and geometry in men and women: the Newcastle Thousand Families Study at 50 years old. British Journal of Radiology 2005, 78(930), 493-498.
• Pearce MS, Thomas J, Campbell DI, Parker L. Does increased duration of exclusive breastfeeding protect against Helicobacter pylori infection? The Newcastle thousand families cohort study at age 49-51 years. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 2005, 41(5), 617-620.
• Pearce MS, Deary IJ, Young AH, Parker L. Growth in early life and childhood IQ at age 11 years. International Journal of Epidemiology 2005, 34(3), 673-677.
• Pearce M, Unwin N, Relton C, Alberti K, Parker L. Lifecourse determinants of fasting and post-challenge glucose at age 50 years: The Newcastle thousand families study. European Journal of Epidemiology 2005, 20(11), 915-923.
• Pearce MS, Birrell F, Francis RM, Rawlings DJ, Tuck SP, Parker L. Lifecourse study of bone health at age 49-51 years: The Newcastle thousand families cohort study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2005, 59(6), 475-480.
• Adams JM, Pearce MS, White M, Unwin NC, Parker L. No consistent association between birthweight and parental risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Diabetic Medicine 2005, 22(7), 950-953.
• Birrell F, Pearce MS, Francis RM, Parker L. Self-report overestimates true height loss: Implications for diagnosis of osteoporosis. Clinical Rheumatology 2005, 24(6), 590-592.
• Pearce MS, Hayes L. Self-reported smoking status and exhaled carbon monoxide: Results from two population-based epidemiologic studies in the north of England. Chest 2005, 128(3), 1233-1238.
• Tiffin PA, Pearce MS, Parker L. Social mobility over the lifecourse and self reported mental health at age 50: Prospective cohort study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2005, 59(10), 870-872.
• Pearce MS, Steele JG, Campbell DI, Thomas JE. Tooth loss and Helicobacter pylori seropositivity: The Newcastle Thousand Families cohort study at age 49-51 years. Helicobacter 2005, 10(1), 90-94.
• Pearce MS, Steele JG, Mason J, Walls AWG, Parker L. Do circumstances in early life contribute to tooth retention in middle age?. Journal of Dental Research 2004, 83(7), 562-566.
• Campbell DI, Pearce MS, Parker L, Thomas JE. IgG Subclass Responses in Childhood Helicobacter pylori Duodenal Ulcer: Evidence of T-Helper Cell Type 2 Responses. Helicobacter 2004, 9(4), 289-292.
• Campbell DI, Pearce MS, Parker L, Thomas JE, Sullivan PB, Dale A. Immunoglobulin G subclass responses to Helicobacter pylori vary with age in populations with different levels of risk of gastric carcinoma. Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology 2004, 11(3), 631-633.
• Adams JM, White M, Pearce MS, Parker L. Life course measures of socioeconomic position and self reported health at age 50: Prospective cohort study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2004, 58(12), 1028-1029.
• Parker L, Lamont DW, Unwin N, Pearce MS, Bennett SM, Dickinson HO, White M, Mathers JC, Alberti KG, Craft AW. A lifecourse study of risk for hyperinsulinaemia, dyslipidaemia and obesity (the central metabolic syndrome) at age 49-51 years.[Erratum appears in Diabet Med. 2003 Sep;20(9):781]. Diabetic Medicine 2003, 20(9), 406-415.