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Generation Scotland

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Generation Scotland

Find out about our team, mission, history, funding and more. https://genscot.ed.ac.uk/ We will do this in the safest and most secure way possible. We are growing.

Generation Scotland explores mental and physical health to improve the understanding, prevention and treatment of conditions for current and future generations. Our vision
To improve the health and well-being of current and future generations through partnership between researchers and volunteers. Our mission
Create a large study reflecting the lives of people in Scotland, following individuals and their families from childhood to old age. We will support partnerships between our volunteers and researchers on pressing issues of health and well-being. We will combine responses to questionnaires and detailed historic NHS records with innovative laboratory science and data analytics. We will support open science combined with public engagement and consultation, sharing our findings to influence health policy and improve lives. Our volunteers
Generation Scotland has been recruiting volunteers since 2006. Over 24,000 people have already joined from around 7,000 families. We are inviting new families and family members aged 12 and older to join. We aim to double the number of Generation Scotland volunteers between now and 2024. Our volunteers have helped support research into COVID-19, cancer, diabetes, depression, dementia and much more.

31/03/2026

📢New research!!

Using Natural Language Processing (NLP) on reports from routine brain scans across Scotland, researchers uncovered incidental findings that predict future disease.

A huge thank you to the volunteers of Generation Scotland, whose data made this research possible. Your contribution advances our understanding of brain health and disease prevention. 🙏

Read the full paper, Iveson et al. (2026): https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2026/03/13/jnnp-2025-337689

12/03/2026

📢New research!!

While we all age at the same chronological rate, we do not all experience biological ageing at the same rate. There are wide varieties in individual health outcomes as we age, with some individuals ageing with minimal impacts to their health and others developing chronic diseases. Researchers are exploring whether epigenetic clocks – DNA-based biomarkers of ageing – can predict future disease risk. This study evaluated how well 14 different clocks predicted outcomes over a 10-year period.

This study was a comparison review of 14 epigenetic clocks that found there is promise for second and third-generation clocks to predict disease risk, particularly in relation to respiratory and liver-based conditions. This study provides a strong foundation for the targeted selection of epigenetic clocks for consideration in clinical risk prediction models.

Grateful to all Generation Scotland participants whose generous contributions made this research possible.

Read the full paper, Mavrommatis et al. (2025): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66106-y

03/03/2026

📢New research!!

New research shows that a DNA change in the CUBN gene is linked to a higher risk of vitamin B12 deficiency in people who take metformin for type 2 diabetes. The difference is small in people who do not use metformin, but it becomes much clearer in metformin users. In UK Biobank, low B12 was seen in 12.84% of people with AA, compared with 6.02% of people with GG.

Grateful to all Generation Scotland participants whose generous contributions help make research like this possible. 💜

Read the full paper, Baldwin et al. (2026):
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00125-025-06655-5

11/02/2026

📢New research!!

New research reveals that DNA methylation signatures of inflammation predict brain ageing better than traditional blood tests. DNAm CRP and GDF15 outperformed plasma measures in predicting cognitive decline and dementia risk over 25 years. A promising step toward identifying at-risk individuals earlier.

Grateful to all Generation Scotland participants whose generous contributions made this research possible. 💙

Read the full paper, Drouin et al. 2025: https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.70281

04/02/2026

📢New research!!

🧬 Landmark study on the genetics of anxiety — just published in Nature Genetics.

Researchers identified 58 genetic risk variants in over 122,000 anxiety cases. Three key takeaways:

🔍 The largest anxiety GWAS to date — 51 variants independently replicated in over 3 million people.

🔗 Anxiety and depression share remarkably deep genetic roots.

🧠 Anxiety risk is widespread across the brain, not tied to a single region.

A huge thank you to the volunteers of Generation Scotland for contributing to this research. Your participation truly matters. 🙏

Read the full paper, Strom et al. 2025: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02485-8

29/01/2026

📢AMBER: Antidepressant Medications: Biology, Exposure & Response📢

The AMBER project aims to identify the biological underpinnings of individual responses to antidepressant treatment. It integrates self-reported antidepressant treatment data with genetic and biological data from Generation Scotland participants.

Thanks to our Generation Scotland volunteers for contributing to this important mental health treatment.

21/01/2026

📢Loneliness in the Digital World📢

The Loneliness project investigated the impacts of in-person and online social interaction on loneliness and mental wellbeing in young people aged 12 – 15. Young people in the Loneliness project were recruited from Generation Scotland.

Thanks to our Generation Scotland volunteers for contributing to this important mental health research in young people.

17/12/2025

📢New research!!

Generation Scotland volunteers have contributed to a methylome-wide association study.

Dr Josephine A. Robertson: “There’s growing excitement about using blood biomarkers to improve disease risk prediction. Here, we looked at how two major biomarker sets — epigenetic signals and circulating proteins — relate to future cardiovascular disease. We found that epigenetic scores for protein levels often showed stronger links to disease risk than the proteins measured directly."

Professor Riccardo E. Marioni: "Our study highlights the potential of combining epigenetics and proteomics to find better predictors of cardiovascular disease. The paper also presents the first large-scale proteomics analysis from Generation Scotland, which will be a valuable resource for future biomedical research.”

10/12/2025

Between 2022 and 2025, we reached a remarkable milestone 🥳: over 16,000 volunteers from across Scotland joined the NextGenerationScotland study. This incredible response reflects the strength of community engagement in research and Scotland's commitment to advancing scientific understanding.

The attached heatmap shows the geographic distribution of our volunteers and key demographic insights. It's inspiring to see participation spanning the breadth of Scotland—from urban centres to remote communities.

To everyone who stepped forward to be part of this research: thank you👏 . Your contribution is shaping the future of our work and making a real difference.

03/12/2025

Here is a snapshot of the biological, clinical and questionnaire data Generation Scotland collected.

Generation Scotland is a research resource encompassing a large family and population-based cohort to facilitate study of the genetic and environmental determinants of health, ideal for precision medicine research (N = ~40,000). We are currently conducting the omics analysis of NextGenScot saliva sample.

Want to explore more? Here is our data explorer tool: https://shiny.igc.ed.ac.uk/GS_Data_Explorer/

26/11/2025

What is Generation Scotland?

We are the largest family health study in Scotland.

We aim to provide researchers around the world with a resource that enables scientific discoveries and improves health knowledge and disease treatments. We aim to inform and influence health policy through rigorous scientific evidence to improve lives.

More information: https://genscot.ed.ac.uk/

12/11/2025

📢New research!!

Generation Scotland volunteers have contributed to a methylome-wide association study examining DNA methylation associated with major depression. This meta-analysis is the largest to date and included 18 studies with over 24,000 participants. The results reveal that depression has distinct biological signatures in the blood, particularly in genes that control immune function, inflammation and metabolism.

Read the full paper, Shen et al. 2025: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44220-025-00486-4

Address

Generation Scotland, University Of Edinburgh, Institute Of Genetics & Cancer, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road South
Edinburgh
EH42XU

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 5pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5pm
Friday	8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+441316518718

Website

https://linktr.ee/genscot

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