Peer-reviewed article
Millennium Cohort Study: cohort profile and data resource update.
Villadsen A, Fitzsimons E ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001The Millennium Cohort Study is a large nationally representative longitudinal study of children born in the UK between 2000 and 2002. The study follows participants from birth through age 23 and collects comprehensive data on multiple aspects of child and adolescent development. This cohort profile describes the study design, sampling methods, data resources, and how researchers can access the datasets. The study includes biological samples and linked administrative data from government records.
Key points
- Nationally representative sample of UK children born 2000-02
- Longitudinal follow-up through age 23 years
- Comprehensive measures across multiple disciplines
- Includes biological samples and linked administrative data
- Designed as a data resource for researchers in public health and related fields
Limitations
This is a cohort profile document describing a research resource rather than evaluating outcomes or interventions. It does not present findings about child well-being outcomes or the effectiveness of any specific programs or policies, though the underlying dataset may be used for such analyses by other researchers.
Abstract
This cohort profile gives a comprehensive overview of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), a nationally representative study of children born in the UK during 2000-02. The study is for researchers in public health and other disciplines who seek a comprehensive overview of the MCS and its data resources. This profile describes the study design, sampling strategy, population characteristics, breadth of measures collected, the availability of biological samples and linked administrative data, approaches to missing data and attrition, and key resources for navigating and accessing the datasets. Earlier cohort profiles are also updated here, and the full range of data resources currently available (through to the most recent survey of participant at age 23 years) is documented.