Scientists who study populations are interested in tracking groups that share similar characteristics, such as people, plants or animals. Most real-world populations for example, all women in their 30s living in the UK are too large to study, so scientists use a representative sample of their target population to explore instead.1
Population research can provide valuable observations into a population’s patterns, trends, and dynamics. This knowledge can help inform diverse areas, such as economic policies based on an ageing population, or tracking the spread of certain diseases.2
When researchers study a population, they sometimes use a cross-sectional study, which examines groups of individuals at a single point in time, such as the genetic differences among smokers across different age groups. Alternatively, they can use longitudinal studies, which follow the same group of people and measure how they change over time.
A birth cohort study is a type of longitudinal study that follows people throughout their lives. These studies, which may even include participant’s children and grandchildren, capture vast amounts of phenotypic, genetic, environmental, lifestyle and health data. These data enable researchers across disciplines to study complex relationships between genetics, environment, and behaviour. This includes:
Medical research – such as identifying disease risk factors by tracking how they develop over time.
Social science education – family dynamics, and workforce participation.
Economics – productivity data, health expenditures, and societal costs of illness.
Environmental science – understanding how environmental exposures, like pollution, affect health.
Early this year, Sanger Institute researchers published a peer-reviewed, open-access data note3 detailing high-quality genetic sequence data from three leading UK population-based birth cohort studies: the Millennium Cohort Study, Born in Bradford, and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (see below for more information). The Sanger Institute is working with other UK research institutes to combine data from these population studies to reveal new population-based insights.