Christ's Hospital Cohort Study

The Christ's Hospital Cohort Study was carried out by the University of Bristol Department of Social Medicine to investigate lifecourse influences on adult health.

Former pupils of Christ's Hospital born between 1927 and 1956 were invited to participate, following the recent discovery of records detailing the growth patterns of boys educated at Christ's Hospital under a scheme instigated by Dr GE Friend, Medical Officer from 1913-1946.

Dr Friend was a renowned researcher in the field of schoolboys' diet and growth patterns. Under his tenure, a schedule of regular growth monitoring was implemented.

This study aims to build upon previous research which has suggested a link between increased adult height and cancers, and decreased adult height and cardiovascular disease.

Participants were invited to complete a detailed questionnaire about their health and lifestyle. Additionally, they were requested to attend their GP to provide blood specimens.

The research project was approved by the NHS South-West Multi-Centre Research Ethics Committee and all Local Research Ethics Committees in the UK. Funding was received from the Cancer Research Campaign and Medical Research Council.

This site contains the study documentation and results of the research.