HealthCare | Data | Publicly available biomedical data

China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)

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The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) aims to collect a high quality nationally representative sample of Chinese residents ages 45 and older to serve the needs of scientific research on the elderly. The baseline national wave of CHARLS is being fielded in 2011 and includes about 10,000 households and 17,500 individuals in 150 counties/districts and 450 villages/resident committees. The individuals will be followed up every two years. CHARLS adopts multistage stratified PPS sampling. As an innovation of CHARLS, a software package (CHARLS-Gis) is being created to make village sampling frames.

 

CHARLS is based on the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and related aging surveys such as the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) and the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The pilot survey of CHARLS was conducted in two provinces (Gansu and Zhejiang) in 2008 and collected data from 48 communities/villages in 16 counties/districts, covering 2,685 individuals living in 1,570 households. The response rate of the pilot survey was 85%.

 

The CHARLS questionnaire includes the following modules: demographics, family structure/transfer, health status and functioning, biomarkers, health care and insurance, work, retirement and pension, income and consumption, assets (individual and household), and community level information.

 

CHARLS has received critical support from Peking University, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Behavioral and Social Research Division of the NIA and the World Bank.

 

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HealthCare | Data | Publicly available biomedical data

English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)

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The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) is a longitudinal study of aged adults in England. The study was initiated in 2002 and is conducted every 2 years. The mission of ELSA is to gather data on the health, social, economic, and psychological aspects of aging in the English population. This study is conducted by a team of researchers from different institutions, led by the University College London. This study is funded by NIA/NIH in the US and the Department of Health and the Medical Research Council in the UK. The study contains nine main waves, from 2002-2003 to 2018-2019.

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Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study (HAALSI)

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The Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study (HAALSI) is a longitudinal study aimed to understand the health and well-being of the elderly population in rural South Africa. This study contains a variety of data types, including demographic data, health status data, health behavior data, social and economic data, and biomarker data. The study started with a baseline survey conducted between 2014 and 2015. The second wave was conducted between 2016 and 2017, and the third wave was conducted between 2018 and 2019. This work is conducted in the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) site in Mpumalanga province, South Africa, and is funded by NIA, South African Medical Research Council, and the University of the Witwatersrand. 

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Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI)

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The Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI) aims to supply the data needed to understand the situation of India’s elderly population. The evidence base contributes to cross-national studies of aging and informs the design of policies that can protect and support the growing elderly community. The LASI contains various types of data, including demographic data, health data, lifestyle data, social data, economic data, cognitive data, biomarker data, medical history data, and environment data. The pilot portion of the LASI project is supported by an R21 exploratory grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The LASI pilot survey targeted 1,600 individuals aged 45 and older and their spouses. The instruments of LASI pilot include Computer-Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) and collection of biomarkers

 

The study is conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), in collaboration with several academic institutions, including Harvard School of Public Health, University of Southern California, and the University of Southern Denmark, and is funded by NIA/NIH, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India, and other academic institutions. 

 

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Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS)

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The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) is a national longitudinal study of adults aged 50 or older in Mexico. The baseline survey, with national and urban/rural representation of adults born in 1951 or earlier, was conducted in 2001 with follow-up interviews in 2003, 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2021. MHAS is partly sponsored by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging (grant number NIH R01AG018016) in the United States and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) in Mexico.

 

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Midlife in the United States (MIDUS)

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Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) is a longitudinal research project that aims to examine the physical, psychological, and social factors that contribute to health and well-being in midlife and beyond. This study is conducted by a multidisciplinary team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison and is funded by various sources including NIA, NSF, NIMH, and multiple academic institutions. MIDUS has been conducted in three stages: MIDUS I, MIDUS II, AND MIDUS III. 

 

MIDUS I was conducted between 1995 and 1996 and involved data collection from over 7,000 adults aged 25 to 74. This original data collection focused on physical health, mental health, social relationship, and life experiences. 

 

MIDUS II was conducted between 2004 and 2006 and collected data from more than 4900 of the MIDUS I participants. This second phase included additional measures for mental and physical health and also new information on cognitive function, genetics, and biomarkers. 

 

MIDUS III was conducted between 2013 and 2014 and collected data of more than 4500 participants from MIDUS I. This latest phase focused on aging and included information on physical and cognitive function, health care utilization, and social support.

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National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA)

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The National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA) is a data archive concerned with the process of aging, health-related subjects, and the attitudes and behavior of the aged population. It consists of over sixteen hundred datasets relevant to gerontological research. NACDA operates under the auspices of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan and is sponsored by the National Institute of Aging. The mission of NACDA is to advance research on aging by helping researchers to profit from the under-exploited potential of a broad range of datasets. 

 

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HealthCare | Publicly available biomedical data | Data

National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP)

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The National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) is a longitudinal, population-based study of health and social factors, aiming to understand the well-being of older, community-dwelling Americans by examining the interactions among physical health and illness, medication use, cognitive function, emotional health, sensory function, health behaviors, social connectedness, sexuality, and relationship quality. This study is conducted by a team of researchers from several academic institutions, led by the University of Chicago, and is funded by NIA and National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago. The study has two stages. The first stage was conducted between 2005 and 2006 and collected data from 3,005 adults aged 57-85 nationally. The second stage was conducted between 2010 and 2011, including 1,400 participants from the first stage.

 

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Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID)

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The Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) is a longitudinal study that began in 1968 with a nationally representative sample of over 18,000 individuals living in 5,000 families in the United States. In this study, information on these participants and their descendants has been collected continuously, including data covering employment, income, wealth, expenditures, health, marriage, childbearing, child development, philanthropy, education, and numerous other topics. The PSID is directed by faculty at the University of Michigan, and the data are available on this website without cost to researchers and analysts. The study has three stages: Core Stage, Child Development Supplement (CDS), and Transition into Adulthood Supplement (TAS). 

 

Core Stage is the primary stage of data collection and involves a survey of all sample members and their families. The survey collects information on income, employment, education, health, and family structure.

 

Child Development Supplement focuses on the development of children in PSID participant families. It collects information on these children’s health, education, behavior, and other relevant factors.

 

Transition into Adulthood Supplement focuses on the transition of PSID family members into adulthood. It collects information on educational and career paths, family formation, health, and other relevant factors.

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HealthCare | Data | Publicly available biomedical data

Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE)

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The Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) is part of an ongoing program of work to compile comprehensive longitudinal information on the health and well-being of adult populations and the ageing process. The core SAGE collects data on adults aged 18+ years, with an emphasis on populations aged 50+ years, from nationally representative samples in six countries: China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russian Federation and South Africa. The study is composed of three stages. 

 

Wave 1 total sample size is over 40,000 individuals. 

 

Wave 2 data collection was completed in 2014/15 in five countries. Wave 2 data collection was released in the public domain at the end 2020. 

 

Wave 3 data collection was completed in March 2020.

 

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