I studied at this university and this incredible ongoing study was referenced in so many departments. It was always lamented that the high participant retention was due to the relationships developed between participants and researchers.
The original study has over 1000 papers, reports, book chapters and other publications that have used the findings of the study. The main areas of focus are:
◾Cardiovascular health and risk factors
◾Respiratory health
◾Oral health
◾Sexual and reproductive health
◾Mental health
◾Psychosocial functioning
◾Other health (including sensory, musculo-skeletal, and digestive) The following sub-studies were created from the original:
1. The Family Health History Study- purpose of this study was to find out about the health of the families of the original study members.
2. The Parenting Study- focused on the first-born 3-year-old children of the original participants. The aim is to identify the social and family determinants of parenting style, and to study continuities and discontinuities in parenting from the parenting experienced by the Study members themselves.
3.The Next Generation Study- looks at the lifestyles, behaviours, attitudes and health of today's teenagers (taken from the family health history study) compared to the 15 year old original participants. But a simple summary would be: 40 years ago researchers at the local University asked the parents of 1000+ kids, born in the same year, "can we please follow your children for the rest of their lives and gather information until you, or they, opt out?" And they said yes.