Aberdonians who were children in the 1950s are being urged to take part in a study which could shed light on the causes of depression.
A team from Aberdeen and Edinburgh universities has been awarded £4.7 million from the Wellcome Trust to study the condition.
Scientists are hoping past participants from the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s study will come forward.
The project began in 1962 when Medical Research Council researchers surveyed all city primary school children aged between seven and 12-years-old
Many were tracked down again through the 1999 census and data they provided has been used to provide insights into heart disease, cancer, strokes and other illnesses.
Now, researchers hope to bring them back together for a new project which will explore depression.
Professor Alison Murray, who is leading the study, said: “Depression is a very common condition that affects a lot of people, but we don’t understand why some people exposed to the risk factors develop the illness and other people don’t.
“This study is as much about trying to understand the resilience aspect of it – why some people are not affected.”
Over the next five years, scientists will study groups of people who have known depression risk factors.
Researchers will use data from Generation Scotland – a large family-based sample of more than 21,000 people – including a sub-sample of people from Aberdeen Children of the 1950s.
Information will be gathered using MRI scans, with researchers also examining aspects such as genetics and early life.
Prof Murray said: “The benefit of using this group is we have so much pre-existing information about them – we know about their births, how heavy they were when they were born and tests they did at school.
“Hopefully, this will help make the research more meaningful and perhaps lead to new treatments.”
Anyone who took part in the Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study or Aberdeen Children of the 1950s is invited to attend an information evening at the Suttie Centre, Foresterhill Health Campus on Tuesday, September 30 from 6pm to 8pm.
Contact Dawn Younie on 01224 438365 or d.younie@abdn.ac.uk by September 19.
