News in 2020

Launching a study into COVID-19 immunity during lockdown

10 December 2020

How do you learn what level of immunity people develop in the months after a COVID-19 infection? With decades of detailed health data and young, engaged participants, Bristol’s Children of the 90s (CO90s) health study is ideally suited to studying the biology of COVID-19 immunity. Here senior fieldworker Claire Rollings describes the process of launching a new study to find out how Children of the 90s participants are convalescing after COVID-19.

Small and large birth weight linked to genetics of mother and baby – except in tiniest babies

2 December 2020

Genetics of mother and baby contribute to most cases where babies are born very large or very small, according to new research.

COVID-19 variables added to CLOSER Discovery

25 November 2020

CLOSER Discovery – the UK’s most detailed search engine for longitudinal data – now includes COVID-19 metadata.

Young people's anxiety levels doubled during first COVID-19 lockdown, says study

24 November 2020

The number of young people with anxiety doubled from 13 per cent to 24 per cent, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown 1, according to new research from the University of Bristol. The study, using Bristol’s Children of the 90s questionnaire data, showed that young people (27-29 years) reported higher levels of anxiety during the early phases of the pandemic in the first national lockdown and this was higher than their parents.

Bristol study completes COVID-19 antibody testing

10 November 2020

Children of the 90s, a health study based at the University of Bristol, has today published results from a study testing almost 5,000 participants for COVID-19 antibodies. 4.3% reported a positive result, of which a quarter were asymptomatic and did not report any symptoms in previous questionnaires.

Risk of self-harm increases for boys and girls who experience earlier puberty

6 October 2020

Boys and girls who experience puberty earlier than their peers have an increased risk of self-harm in adolescence, a study funded by the National Institute for Health Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR Bristol BRC) and published in the journal Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences today [Tuesday 6 October] has found.

Children of the 90s launches Coronavirus antibody testing study

5 October 2020

Children of the 90s, based at the University of Bristol, has launched a COVID-19 antibody testing programme to help understand how many people in the long-term health study have had a COVID-19 infection.

Participant newsletter

30 September 2020

2020 has been a busy year for us here at Children of the 90s. Read on to find out what we've been up to, and our plans for early 2021.

New UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium to address key unanswered questions about immunity and COVID-19

10 September 2020

The new UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium (UK-CIC) has launched, which aims to answer key questions on how the immune system interacts with SARS-CoV-2 to help us fight COVID-19 and develop better diagnostics, treatments and vaccines.

Increased high intensity physical activity in early adolescence could lead to stronger bones in adulthood and help prevent osteoporosis in later life.

17 August 2020

High intensity physical activity in early life might help maximise peak hip strength and prevent osteoporosis in later life, according to a study from University of Bristol researchers published in JAMA Network Open today (17 August).

Children in poverty at greater risk of childhood traumas

9 July 2020

Children whose parents report poverty in pregnancy are nine times more likely to face additional traumatic experiences compared to their wealthier peers, UCL research finds.

Infant sleep problems can signal mental disorders in adolescents – study.

1 July 2020

Specific sleep problems among babies and very young children can be linked to mental disorders in adolescents, a new study from the University of Birmingham has found.

Signs of being prone to adult diabetes are already visible at age 8 years old

19 June 2020

Early signs of being more susceptible to type 2 diabetes as an adult can be seen in children as young as 8 years old, decades before it is likely to be diagnosed, according to a new study published in Diabetes Care (19 June 2020).

Anxiety levels doubled in young people following COVID-19 lockdown, says study.

19 June 2020

Please note this is a preprint, so it is a preliminary piece of research that has not yet been through peer review and has not been published in a scientific journal – so this is early data. Young people’s anxiety levels have doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic with 24% experiencing anxiety up from 13% in pre-pandemic waves, according to research from the University of Bristol.

Research begins to rapidly understand deadly link between Covid-19 and cardiovascular diseases

12 June 2020

Improved care for people with heart and circulatory disease suffering from COVID-19 could soon be available after the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) announced support for six flagship research programmes. Researchers from across the UK including the University of Bristol will combine data from hospitals, information about our health and lifestyle, genetic studies, and cutting-edge imaging and artificial intelligence techniques to better understand how the virus affects the heart and circulatory system.

Users of high-potency cannabis four times more likely to report associated problems

27 May 2020

Users of high-potency cannabis are four times more likely to report associated problems, and twice as likely to report anxiety disorder, than users of lower-potency strains, according to new research from the University of Bristol.

Children with autism face higher risk of eating disorders

13 May 2020

Children with autistic traits are more likely than their peers to develop an eating disorder, according to a new UCL-led study which uses Children of the 90s data, published today (13 May).

Thousands of local people take part in ground-breaking coronavirus research

30 April 2020

A record number of local people have taken part in new research to track COVID-19 symptoms and effects.

Alcohol use during pregnancy linked to offspring depression

21 April 2020

Children of mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy may be at an increased risk of developing depression in late adolescence, according to new University of Bristol research. The study, which used data from 14,541 pregnant mothers in the 1990s, is published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Children of the 90s calls on participants to help fight Coronavirus

9 April 2020

A new questionnaire from the Children of the 90s health study, and funded by Elizabeth Blackwell Institute, looking into COVID-19 launches today (9 April).

Message to participants in light of coronavirus (COVID-19)

6 April 2020

We will update this message should anything change (last reviewed 30 June 2020)

Message to researchers in light of coronavirus (COVID-19)

23 March 2020

We will update this message should anything change (last reviewed 30 June 2020).

Pupils’ genes cannot accurately predict educational achievement

10 March 2020

Pupils’ genetic data do not predict their educational outcomes with sufficient accuracy and shouldn’t be used to design a genetically personalised curriculum or tailor teaching, according to a new University of Bristol study. The findings, which compared the genetic scores of 3,500 pupils with their exam results, are published in the journal eLife today (10 March).

Bristol contributes to world’s biggest and most detailed scanning project

19 February 2020

Volunteers are putting their best foot forward for health research as the world’s largest imaging study opens a new assessment centre in Bristol (press release re-published with thanks to UK Biobank).

Sitting still linked to increased risk of depression in adolescents

11 February 2020

Too much time sitting still – sedentary behaviour – is linked to an increased risk of depressive symptoms in adolescents, finds a new UCL-led study (press release re-published with thanks to University College London).

Is modern urban life making us unhealthy? New grant will help Bristol scientists find out.

11 February 2020

Researchers at the University of Bristol are starting to look at how our health is affected by where we live from conception to adulthood and old age thanks to a new grant from the European Union.

Students, staff and alumni to get active at this year’s Great Bristol 10k

29 January 2020

Students, staff and alumni from the University of Bristol are being invited to lace up their trainers and take part in this year’s Great Bristol 10k on Sunday 3 May.

Poor mental health “both cause and effect” of school exclusion

22 January 2020

News release re-published from University of Exeter.

Obesity could be linked to a rise in fatty liver disease in young adults

16 January 2020

One in five young people have fatty liver disease (steatosis), with one in 40 having already developed liver scarring (fibrosis), research published today [15 January] has found. The study, published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, is the first to attempt to determine the prevalence of fatty liver disease and fibrosis in young healthy adults in the UK.