Stockholm Birth Cohort

Summary

This is a valuable cohort study, which as also influenced discussions on policies, ethical issues and legislation in the field. One problem is that the data from the original study from 1963 has been made un-identifiable in 1986. New statistical methods, however, are developed to make semi-comparisons. The new database provides excellent opportunities for life-course studies on health and social outcomes. It allows for studies that have not previously been possible in Sweden or elsewhere. Further, it provides an opportunity for collaborative work with similar databases in Copenhagen and Aberdeen.

Type of data

Data Source
Registry

Type of Study
Survey same

Data gathering method
Registries
Self administered questionnaire

Access to data

Conditions of access
Available for the scientific community in line with Swedish laws and agreement with Statistics Sweden.

Type of available data (e.g. anonymised microdata, aggregated tables, etc.)

Formats available
Data set is compatible: Excel, SAS, SPSS, STATA, Text, etc.

Coverage

Coverage Years of collection, reference years, and sample sizes
The Stockholm Birth Cohort Study (SBC) was created in 2004/2005 by a probability matching of two comprehensive and longitudinal datasets. The first, the Stockholm Metropolitan study 1953–1985, consists of all children born in 1953 and living in the Stockholm metropolitan area in 1963. The second, The Swedish Work and Mortality Database 1980–2002 (WMD), consists of all individuals living in Sweden in 1980 or 1990, and born before 1985. The initiative to create the database was taken by Denny Vågerö at the Centre for Health Equity Studies, CHESS, of Stockholm University/Karolinska Institute and Sten-Åke Stenberg at the Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University (SOFI). The resulting database provides a 50 year long follow-up of the original 1953 birth cohort.

First year of collection
1963

Stratification if applicable
Stockholm larger area – individuals born 1953

Base used for sampling

Geographical coverage and breakdowns
Living in Stockholm larger area 1963

Age range

Statistical representativeness
Regional representative, please specify

Coverage of main and cross-cutting topics
The Stockholm Birth Cohort Study (SBC) is a new anonymous data base created in 2004/2005 by a probability matching of two comprehensive data sets. The SBC is a collaboration project between the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) and the Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS). Its major strength is its rich information on individual characteristics, such as attitudes, behaviours, health and school performance, as well as social circumstances, such as family situation and neighbourhood characteristics, during childhood. Data on birth size and foetal growth are also included. Research topics covered have included criminality, education, mental health, welfare dependence, sibling position, suicide, peer status, child rearing, drug abuse, and much more.

Linkage

Standardisation
ISCED and social class and occupational classification systems

Possibility of linkage among databases
In addition, the content consists of data from a variety of records, including birth records, income and professional duties, welfare, health, causes of death, education and information about the family from social registers. This study material consists of data from several sources of information that have been linked to each other. This information has been organized into a total of six codebooks: the first five describes the data from Metropolitan Project and the sixth describes the follow-up data from the database Health Disease Work and Income (HSIA).

Data quality

Entry errors if applicable

Breaks

Consistency of terminology or coding used during collection

Governance

Contact information
Sten-Åke Stenberg / Institute for social research
University of Stockholm

106 91 Stockholm Sweden Phone: +46 8 16 26 55
Email: sten-ake.stenberg(at)sofi.su.se
Url: http://www.stockholmbirthcohort.su.se/

Timeliness, transparency