Related Measure: Sleep problems
Million Women Study (MWS)
The Million Women Study is a population-based cohort study of 1.3 million women born in 1935-1950 with the aim of providing reliable information on potentially modifiable causes of common and serious illnesses. Participants’ health has been followed mainly through linkage to routinely collected NHS records as well as re-surveys. Current focus is on research on dementia, osteoporosis, stroke and other severe disabling conditions that become increasingly common as women age.
West of Scotland Twenty-07 (WOS)
The West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study is a population-based multi-cohort study which has followed three cohorts of men and women in the West of Scotland across twenty years. Set up in 1986, the study was designed to investigate the differences in health by socio-economic circumstances, gender, the place where people live, age, ethnic group and family type. Through tracking three cohorts of volunteers, each born roughly twenty years apart, the study provides data at critical points in the lifespan, as participants make the transition from adolescence to working life; through the main part of working life; and from working life to retirement. Additionally, the study was designed to explore the effect of the historical context of people’s lives on their health and circumstances by comparing the different cohorts at the same age at different points in time.
Generation Scotland (GSSFHS)
GS:SFHS is a family-based genetic epidemiology study with DNA and socio-demographic and clinical data from 24,000 volunteers across Scotland aged 18–98 years. The breadth and depth of phenotype information collected, participants’ mechanisms for linkage of all data to comprehensive routine health-care records, and ‘broad’ consent from participants to use their data and samples for a wide range of research were designed to maximize the power of the resource to identify, replicate or control for genetic factors associated with a wide spectrum of illnesses and risk factors, both now and in the future. It has recently added on a new module called COVIDLife in which quesitons related to COVID-19 were asked to participants over three main sweeps in 2020 and 2021. There are also three young persons' sweeps and a sweep which focuses specifically on rural areas.
Cognitive Function and Ageing Study Wales (CFAS Wales)
CFAS Wales is a longitudinal study looking at health and cognitive function in older people living in Wales. The study builds on the design and infrastructure of the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study collaboration (CFAS) exploring biomarkers and other early indications of risk of cognitive decline, such as imaging. It also investigates factors that may delay the onset of dementia, specifically focusing on the role of bilingualism and social networks and allow a more in-depth examination of rural-urban variations, which have been markedly unexplained in previous studies.
Growing Up in Scotland (GUSBC)
Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) is a longitudinal research study that tracks the lives of thousands of children and their families from the early years, through childhood and beyond. Launched in 2005, GUS has collected information on three nationally representative cohorts of children born in 2004-05 (Birth Cohort 1), 2002-03 (Child Cohort) and 2010-11 (Birth Cohort 2). This page provides information about Birth Cohort 1 (BC1). The main aim of the study is to provide new information to support policymaking in Scotland, but it is also intended to provide a resource for practitioners, academics, the voluntary sector and parents.
Mental Health of Children and Young People in England Surveys (MHCYPS)
The Surveys of the Mental Health of Children and Young People (MHCYP) are a series of national surveys of the mental health of children and young people. Each survey involves interviewing a large, stratified probability sample of children and young people, and their parents and teachers. The primary aim of the surveys is to collect robust data on a range of topics relating to the mental health of children and young people to improve understanding of the state of children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing and inform the design of mental health services.
Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA)
As the first large scale longitudinal study of ageing in Northern Ireland, NICOLA aims to help gain a better understanding of the factors that affect social and health outcomes in the older Northern Ireland population. Over time, it will inform new prevention strategies, new interventions, new models of health and social care delivery, and ultimately contribute to how society should change to ensure a better quality of life for all.
Cognitive Function and Ageing Study II (CFAS II)
Since the baseline of MRC CFAS there has been an increase in life expectancy, changes in major chronic disease and potentially advances in symptomatic treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. CFAS II builds upon the design and infrastructure of MRC to investigate the implications of changes in morbidity and frailty on health itself, as well as the use of services and expenditure in health and social care on future. It also provides important baseline information on older people aged 65-84 in 2008-2011 who will reach the age of greatest frailty during the 2020’s, when the peak in the number of people aged 85 or over is expected and at a time when major therapeutic interventions for dementia could be expected to have an effect.
MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (MRC CFAS)
MRC CFAS began in the late 1980s with the initial aim of investigating dementia and cognitive decline in a representative sample of more than 18,000 people aged over 65 years. The study primarily aimed to find out how common dementia and associated conditions are in England and Wales and also, how many new cases of dementia develop each year. The range of information collected in the interviews has also allowed the study to also investigate depression and physical disability in the older population in addition to looking at healthy active life expectancy. MRC CFAS ran from 1989 – 2011. Having provided estimations of dementia occurrence for the UK, CFAS was increasingly asked to provide evidence on generational change in dementia, cognition and life expectancy by the government and the public, leading to its daughter studies, CFAS II & CFAS Wales.
1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)
The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) is a multidisciplinary national longitudinal birth cohort study. Original aims were to examine the social and biological characteristics of the mother in relation to neonatal morbidity, and to compare the results with the 1958 National Child Development Study. With each successive sweep, the scope of the enquiry has broadened from a strictly medical focus at birth, to encompass physical, educational, social and economic development.
Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents & Children (ALSPAC)
The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents & Children (ALSPAC) is a multi-generational, population-based prospective birth cohort study. Established in the early 90s, ALSPAC follows the lives of over 14,500 people born between April 1991 and December 1992 and their family members. Children and their families have been followed intensively, primarily with annual questionnaires, as well as clinical assessments for a sub-sample of cohort members. ALSPAC was specifically designed to understand the ways in which genetic and environmental factors interact to influence health, behaviour, and development across the lifespan. The ALSPAC study has collected data using a range of methods. Mental health measures collected in postal questionnaires and from clinic assessments are detailed on the Catalogue.
1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS)
The 1958 National Child Development Study is a multidisciplinary national longitudinal birth cohort study following the lives of over 17,000 people born in 1958. The study aims to improve understanding of the factors affecting human development over the whole lifespan. Follows histories of health, wealth, education, family and employment from early life with linked biomedical and examination performance data integrated into the study.
English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)
The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) is a longitudinal study that collects multidisciplinary data from a representative sample of the English population aged 50 and older. The survey data are designed to be used for the investigation of a broad set of topics relevant to understanding the ageing process including economic position, physical and mental health, labour market activity, retirement and social networks.
Millennium Cohort Study (MCS)
The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is a national longitudinal birth cohort study following the lives of around 19,000 young people born in the United Kingdom in 2000-01. This multidisciplinary survey aims to capture the influence of early family context on child development and outcomes. Children from minority ethnic backgrounds and children in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland are oversampled to help capture the diversity of backgrounds into which children are born in the beginning of the 21st century.
Newcastle 85+ (N85)
The Newcastle 85+ Study is the world’s largest population-based longitudinal study of health and ageing in the over-85s. The study aims to assess the spectrum of health in the oldest old, identify factors which contribute to the maintenance of health and independence and advance understanding of the biological nature of human ageing.
Understanding Society – UK Household Longitudinal Survey (UKHLS)
Understanding Society is a largescale longitudinal survey of approximately 40,000 households across the United Kingdom. As a multi-topic household survey, the purpose of Understanding Society is to understand social and economic change in Britain at the household and individual levels by capturing important information about the social and economic circumstances, attitudes and behaviours and health of people living in thousands of households. The Understanding Society study is a successor to the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), with the BHPS sample forming part of Understanding Society from Wave 2 onwards.