Thousand Families Study, Newcastle upon Tyne

Thousand Families Study was a major epidemiological study, that arose through observations made by Sir James Spence, one of the first ever full-time paediatricians in the United Kingdom, and from 1942, the first holder of a University Chair of Child Health in England.

Prior to the Second World War, Newcastle City Council became increasingly concerned about the high infant mortality rate in the city (in 1939 the rate was 62 per 1000 live births) and asked Spence to undertake a review of all deaths of babies. Spence concluded that the excess infant mortality was due to death from acute infection. Further research was curtailed by the Second World War.