Millennium Cohort Study

The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is the fourth of Britain’s major birth cohort studies – the others began in 1946, 1958 and 1970. The survey for the first wave of the MCS took place between June 2001 and January 2003, collecting data from the parents of 18,818 babies born in the UK over a 12-month period at the average age of 9 months. Subsequent waves have collected information from the families at ages 3, 5 and 7, with a further wave planned for age 11.

The MCS focuses on the health and development of the cohort children and attempts to understand the policy, social and family contexts within that development takes place. It collects data across a wide range of domains, including rich data on socioeconomic status and changing family structures. With special license access, the MCS data can be linked to data from the UK census to explore the impact of communities on the health and wellbeing of young families.

At the University of York, researchers participate in the York Birth Cohort Study Group, sharing work in progress, resolving methodological issues and collaborating on the development of new research questions that can be answered with MCS data. Current research interests include: the context and consequences of maternal smoking; interactions between people and place; families with children with intellectual disabilities; child care, accidental injury and health inequalities; and childbirth.

Funding
Members

Funding

Funder(s):	Various
Start Date:	June 2001
Expiry Date:	January 2003

Members

Jo Green