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The Million Women Study is the largest study of women’s health in the world. In 1996-2001, a quarter of UK women then aged 50-64 years (1.3 million women) joined the study. The aim of the study is to provide reliable information on potentially modifiable causes of common and serious illnesses, to help improve individual and public health. Study participants have provided details about their lifestyle and health and given signed consent for follow-up. Since recruitment their health has been followed mainly through electronic linkage to routinely collected NHS records (only 1.5% loss to follow-up after 20 years) and the whole surviving cohort has been re-contacted 4 times by postal re-survey to update exposures (1999-03, 2006-7, 2009-12 & 2013-14). Subsets of women have completed additional postal and online re-surveys.

Million Women Study is part of the Dementias Platform UK (DPUK), a multi-million pound public-private partnership to accelerate progress in dementias research http://www.mrc.ac.uk/research/facilities/dementias-platform-uk

Last update – 13/06/2017

The original purpose of the Add Health study was to help understand the causes of adolescent health and health behaviour with special emphasis on the effects of multiple contexts of adolescent life.

The cohort was then followed through their transition to adulthood and research turned to understanding the determinants and consequences of developmental and health trajectories from adolescence into adulthood.

Add Health combines longitudinal survey data on respondents’ social, economic, psychological and physical well-being with contextual data on the family, neighbourhood, community, school, friendships, peer groups, and romantic relationships, providing unique opportunities to study how social environments and behaviours in adolescence are linked to health and achievement outcomes in young adulthood. The fourth wave of interviews expanded the collection of biological data in Add Health to understand the social, behavioural, and biological linkages in health trajectories as the Add Health cohort ages through adulthood, and the fifth wave of data collection continues this biological data expansion (2016-2018).

Last update – 03/02/2017

Aims & objective

  • To find out the known as well as some new factors which increase the risk of occurrence of stroke (half body paralysis, Lakwa) and of memory problem and other brain related problems.
  • To identify a group of apparently healthy people (50 years and above), carry out their health check up and follow them up over several years to detect any health problems (like heart attack, lakwa, memory problems) with increasing age.
  • To investigate the prevalence and incidence of and risk factors for stroke and cognitive decline in the elderly.

Updates about the health of the participants will be obtained from telephone follow-ups every six months and physical check-ups every three years. The study is expected to last for at least 10 years.

Last update – 02/02/2017

CFAS Wales aims to interview a representative sample of 3,750 people aged 65 and over in two areas in Wales (Gwynedd and Swansea). Using established and standardised techniques it will collect data that will enable the investigation of cognitive impairment, depression, physical disability and healthy active life expectancy for the whole group and within social groups. It will provide a foundation for other collaborative studies that investigate biomarkers and other early indications of risk of cognitive decline, such as imaging. It will investigate factors that may delay the onset of dementia, specifically focussing on the role of bilingualism and social networks. As the participants reside in a bilingual area this is a key opportunity.

Last update – 13/02/2017

The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (DMHDS) is an ongoing, longitudinal study of the health, development and well-being of a general sample of New Zealanders. They were studied at birth (1972-73), followed up and assessed at the age of three when the longitudinal study was established. Since then they have been assessed every two years until the age of 15, then at ages 18 (1990-91), 21 (1993-94), 26 (1998-99), 32 (2003-2005), and 38 (2010-2012). It is planned to next see the Study members at age 44/45 and beyond.

Last update – 31/01/2017

Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (HBCS) 1934-44 is a unique birth study including 13,345 subjects in the epidemiological cohort. The cohort is a longitudinal study cohort with data throughout the life span including prenatal life, early childhood and later life. Besides extensive epidemiological data over 2000 subjects have been randomly selected for a clinical part. The subjects have been followed up clinically for over one decade with extensive phenotypic data available including metabolic data, dietary information as well as other lifestyle data. Psychological factors including personality, depression and anxiety has been focused upon.

Last update – 07/02/2017

The HELIAD is a population-based, multidisciplinary, collaborative study designed to estimate the prevalence and incidence of AD, other dementias, mild cognitive impairment, and other neuropsychiatric conditions of aging in the Greek population and to investigate associations between nutrition and cognitive dysfunction/age-related neuropsychiatric diseases in this Mediterranean population.

The participants in the HELIAD study were selected through random sampling from community-dwelling individuals over the age of 65 years in the cities of Larissa (located in the province of Thessaly in Central Greece and Marousi (located within the Athens Metropolitan area). The targeted sample of enrolled participants comprised approximately 2,500 individuals. No weighting or stratified sampling (according to age, gender, or education) was performed. Follow-ups with face-to-face interviews at ~3 year intervals.

Last update – 01/02/2017

The HCS is a population-based cohort study established to assess factors important in the health, well-being, social functioning and economic consequences of ageing. The participants included community-dwelling men and women aged 55-85 years of age who reside in Newcastle, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. They were randomly selected from the NSW State electoral roll and contacted between December 2004 and December 2007.

The participants’ study data was collected through self-report postal questionnaires which covered a wide range of variables but also linked with local and national health information databases and hospital records. These provided follow-up on use of prescription medication, health service utilization and hospitalizations, morbidity and mortality. There was also a baseline clinic visit which measured a wide variety of parameters including hearing, vision, smell, balance, cognition, and lung function. Medications and diagnoses have been collected not only at baseline but also at periodic intervals during follow-up.

Last update – 31/01/2017

The main objective of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) is to provide comprehensive longitudinal evidence base on health, social and economic wellbeing of elderly population in India.

LASI main wave’s covers 30 states and 6 union territories of India covering a panel sample size of 60,250 elderly persons aged 45 years and above. The long-term goal of LASI is to continue this survey for the next 25 years with the first wave planned in the year 2016-17 and second wave in 2018-19. LASI aims to obtain all the indicators for each of the 30 states and 6 union territories. In addition, LASI aims at obtaining indicators for each of the four metropolitan cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.

Last update – 10/02/2017

The Three-City Study (3C Study) is a population-based longitudinal study of the relation between vascular diseases and dementia in persons aged 65 years and older. A total of 9,294 participants (3,649 men and 5,645 women) were recruited from three French cities: Bordeaux (2,104), Dijon (4,931) and Montpellier (2,259).

The principal objective is to estimate the risk of dementia (Alzheimer’s disease and other types) that may be attributed to vascular factors.

In follow up 1 and 2 (2001-2004) participants were interviewed and subjected to physical and cognitive testing. In follow up 3 (2005-2012) participants completed a postal questionnaire. The third, fourth, and fith waves of follow-up examinations started in 2006 and finished in 2012. A sixth follow-up is ongoing.

Last update – 03/02/2017