Unique longitudinal research into brain and cognitive ageing with hundreds of participants born in 1921 and 1936 Image Identifying what happens to our thinking skills and to the brain as we age is one of the greatest challenges to improving the health of older people. Not everyone experiences cognitive decline in the same way: what are the factors that influence people’s cognitive and brain ageing?The Lothian Birth Cohorts (LBCs) are two groups of people, born in 1921 and 1936, who have been followed over many years to investigate how cognitive abilities and the brain change as we age, and which lifestyle, health and genetic factors influence these changes. To read more about the history of the study and the participants, visit: The cohorts' history.The Lothian Birth Cohorts are unusual and extremely valuable groups of participants who permit us to understand the association between early life experiences and late life outcomes of health and disease. Their generous gift of their time and information, and the superb team at Edinburgh that has been able to leverage these data expertly and creatively has resulted in many new insights into brain aging in health and disease.Professor Sudha SeshadriDirector of Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, Texas, USAOver 700 scientific articles have been published based on the LBC data. To view our publications, visit: Publications.Many different factors contribute to age-related changes. These range from genetic and medical factors to lifestyle.Differences in people’s genes might account for about 25% of the variation in how thinking skills change from childhood to old age.Cognitive function is harmed by smoking, loneliness and social isolation, and is aided by maintaining physical activity into older age.To find out more, visit: Discoveries.Given the rapidly increasing number of older people worldwide, there is a growing interest in what contributes to health and wellbeing in old age.LBC research has been cited in over 60 policy documents, widely profiled in the press and media and featured in numerous science festivals and public talks. For an overview of our engagement and impact activities, visit: Engagement and impact.Lothian Birth CohortsFundersAge UKBiotechnology and Biological Sciences CouncilEconomic and Social Research CouncilMedical Research CouncilThe Wellcome Trust This article was published on 2024-10-14
