Zurich Longitudinal Studies (ZLS)
ZLS is a set of three longitudinal cohorts, initiated in the 1950's (first cohort) and the 1970's (second and third cohorts). The studies examine the health and development of over 1,000 children born in Zurich, Switzerland, from birth to adulthood. The first cohort (ZLS-1) includes 445 participants who were born and enrolled at birth between 1954 and 1961. The second cohort (ZLS-2) includes 265 participants (103 term-born and 162 preterm infants) who were born between 1974 and 1979. The third cohort (ZLS-3) were recruited between 1970 and 2002, and includes 327 children of 174 ZLS-1 participants. All three cohorts are tracked regularly and at frequent intervals from birth to young adulthood, and since 2019, participants are being followed-up into older adulthood.
Study design
Cohort - birth, Cohort - accelerated, Cohort - intergenerational
Number of participants at first data collection
445 (ZLS-1)
265 (ZLS-2)
327 (ZLS-3)
Age at first data collection
Birth (ZLS-1)
Birth (ZLS-2)
Birth (ZLS-3)
Participant year of birth
1954 - 1961 (ZLS-1)
1974 - 1979 (ZLS-2)
1970 - 2002 (ZLS-3)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
1954 (ZLS-1)
1974 (ZLS-2)
1970 (ZLS-3)
Primary Institutions
University Children's Hospital Zurich (Universitäts-Kinderspital Zürich)
University of Zurich (Universität Zürich)
Profile paper DOI
Funders
Baugarten Stiftung
Children's Research Center of the University Children's Hospital Zurich (Forschungszentrum für das Kind des Universitäts-Kinderspitals Zürich)
Department of Education of the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland
Foundation for Research in Science and the Humanities at the University of Zurich (Stiftung für Wissenschaftliche Forschung an der Universität Zürich)
Hartmann Müller-Stiftung
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Computer, paper or task testing (e.g. cognitive testing, theory of mind doll task, attention computer tasks)
- Interview – face-to-face
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Self-report questionnaire – online
- Self-report questionnaire – paper or computer assisted
- Creative, arts-based and visual methods
- Ethnography or participant observation
- Qualitative survey
- None
- None
Engagement
Keywords
