Study Design: Cohort study
Our Future: Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England: Cohort 2 (LSYPE2)
The aims of the survey are to: 1. follow a sample of young people through the last few years of compulsory education. 2. follow their transition from secondary education to education, training, employment and other activities. 3. collect information about their careers and about factors affecting their careers. 4. provide an evidence base about the lives and experiences of young people.
Born in Bradford (BiB)
Born in Bradford is a large birth cohort study based at Bradford Royal Infirmary, a hospital in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire. The study was established in 2007 to examine how genetic, nutritional, environmental, behavioural and social factors impact on health and development during childhood, and subsequently adult life in a deprived multi-ethnic population.
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.
Next Steps (LSYPE)
Next Steps is a longitudinal survey collecting information about young people in England aged 13 to 14 in 2004. Previously known as the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England, the study was originally designed to examine key factors affecting educational progress, attainment and transitions following the end of compulsory education and collects data on education, employment, economic circumstances, family life, physical and emotional health and wellbeing, social participation and attitudes.
Whitehall II (WH2)
The Whitehall II study was established to investigate the causes of social inequalities in health with a cohort of 10,308 participants was recruited from the British Civil Service in 1985. The study has shown the importance of psychosocial factors such as work stress and work-family conflict in heart disease and diabetes in addition to the contribution of unhealthy behaviours and traditional risk factors such as high blood pressure. The study is now a study on ageing, with the 30-year follow-up allowing research on multimorbidity, functional decline, frailty, disability, and dementia.
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.
Health and Employment After Fifty (HEAF)
HEAF is a prospective cohort study of adults in England aged 50 and over that aims to examine the relationship between extended working life and health and shed light on how best to support the well-being of older workers. Main study questions focused on the impact of common health problems (especially musculoskeletal disorders) on work capability and participation; the social, occupational, personal and medical co-factors which influence vocational outcomes among older people, and the impact of job loss on physical and psychological health.
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.
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.
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.
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.