English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
Encyclopedia
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. Both objective and subjective data are collected covering themes such as health trajectories, disability and healthy life expectancy, the determinants of economic position in older age; the links between economic position, physical health, cognition and mental health; the nature and timing of retirement and post-retirement, labour market activity; household and family structure, social networks and social supports; patterns, determinants and consequences of social, civic and cultural participation and predictors of well-being. ELSA is led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot
and is jointly run by teams at University College London
(UCL), the Institute for Fiscal Studies
(IFS), National Centre for Social Research and the University of Manchester
.
in the US and a consortium of UK government departments. For the current grant, covering waves 5 and 6, the departments making up the UK government funding consortium are: Department of Health; Department for Work and Pensions
; Department for Transport
; The Department for Communities and Local Government
; Office for National Statistics
; and HM Revenue and Customs
(HSE) and the initial data collected for that survey are subsequently linked to the ongoing ELSA measurements. For waves 3 and 4, refreshment samples selected from HSE 2001–04 and 2006 were added, respectively. The main interview takes the form of a personal interview using CAPI (computer-assisted personal interview) followed by a short self-completion questionnaire. Other components of the study include: a nurse visit involving measurements of physical function, anthropometric measurements and blood/saliva samples; a life-history interview collecting information on lifetime family circumstances, place of residence, employment and major health events prior to the baseline interview; and an end of life interview, initially adapted from US Health and Retirement Study
(HRS), carried out by close friends/relatives of an eligible ELSA respondent who has died to collect information about the respondent’s circumstances in the period since the final interview and their death.
Over the course of the study to date, the following data have been collected:
(ESDS) can access the ELSA datasets via a web-based download service. A list of publications using ELSA data is maintained on the ELSA website. A selection of descriptive findings from each wave of the study are published every 2 years
Longitudinal study
A longitudinal study is a correlational research study that involves repeated observations of the same variables over long periods of time — often many decades. It is a type of observational study. Longitudinal studies are often used in psychology to study developmental trends across the...
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. Both objective and subjective data are collected covering themes such as health trajectories, disability and healthy life expectancy, the determinants of economic position in older age; the links between economic position, physical health, cognition and mental health; the nature and timing of retirement and post-retirement, labour market activity; household and family structure, social networks and social supports; patterns, determinants and consequences of social, civic and cultural participation and predictors of well-being. ELSA is led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot
Michael Marmot
Sir Michael Gideon Marmot is professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London.- Career :Michael Marmot was born in London, England. He moved to Australia as a young child and graduated in Medicine from the University of Sydney, Australia, in 1968. He earned a MPH in 1972...
and is jointly run by teams at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
(UCL), the Institute for Fiscal Studies
Institute for Fiscal Studies
The Institute for Fiscal Studies is an economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom which specialises in UK taxation and public policy...
(IFS), National Centre for Social Research and the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
.
Funding
Current funding for ELSA will extend the panel to cover a period of 12 years. ELSA is funded jointly by the National Institute on AgingNational Institute on Aging
The National Institute on Aging ' is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health , located in Baltimore, Maryland.The NIA leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life...
in the US and a consortium of UK government departments. For the current grant, covering waves 5 and 6, the departments making up the UK government funding consortium are: Department of Health; Department for Work and Pensions
Department for Work and Pensions
The Department for Work and Pensions is the largest government department in the United Kingdom, created on June 8, 2001 from the merger of the employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security and headed by the Secretary of State for Work and...
; Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
; The Department for Communities and Local Government
Department for Communities and Local Government
The Department for Communities and Local Government is the UK Government department for communities and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 and is the successor to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, established in 2001...
; Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
; and HM Revenue and Customs
Study design and data collection
The first wave of ELSA achieved a sample comprising 11,050 respondents aged 50 and over on 1 March 2002. Sample members are drawn from respondents to the Health Survey For EnglandHealth Survey For England
The Health Survey for England is a statistical survey which is conducted annually in order to collect information concerning health and health-related behaviour of people living in private households in England.-History:...
(HSE) and the initial data collected for that survey are subsequently linked to the ongoing ELSA measurements. For waves 3 and 4, refreshment samples selected from HSE 2001–04 and 2006 were added, respectively. The main interview takes the form of a personal interview using CAPI (computer-assisted personal interview) followed by a short self-completion questionnaire. Other components of the study include: a nurse visit involving measurements of physical function, anthropometric measurements and blood/saliva samples; a life-history interview collecting information on lifetime family circumstances, place of residence, employment and major health events prior to the baseline interview; and an end of life interview, initially adapted from US Health and Retirement Study
Health and Retirement Study
The Health and Retirement Study is conducted by the at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and supported by the National Institute on Aging . The study interviews 22,000 Americans 50 and over every two years on subjects like health care, housing, assets, pensions , employment and...
(HRS), carried out by close friends/relatives of an eligible ELSA respondent who has died to collect information about the respondent’s circumstances in the period since the final interview and their death.
Over the course of the study to date, the following data have been collected:
-
- March 2002 - March 2003: Wave 1 Interview
- June 2004 - June 2005: Wave 2 Interview + Nurse visit
- May 2006 - August 2007: Wave 3 Interview
- March 2007 – October 2007: Life-history interview
- May 2008 - June 2009: Wave 4 Interview + Nurse visit
- June 2010 - June 2011: Wave 5 Interview
Data and findings
Users registered with the Economic and Social Data ServiceEconomic and Social Data Service
The Economic and Social Data Service is a national data archiving and dissemination service that was founded in January 2003. It is funded jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Joint Information Systems Committee ....
(ESDS) can access the ELSA datasets via a web-based download service. A list of publications using ELSA data is maintained on the ELSA website. A selection of descriptive findings from each wave of the study are published every 2 years
Related studies
ELSA data is designed to be directly comparable with data from the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). There are a number of other analogous studies around the world that are concerned with aspects of ageing:-
- New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement Survey
- Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging
- WHO's Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE)
- Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS)
- The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)
- The Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI)
- The Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR)
- China Health and Retirement Longitudinal StudyChinese Health and Retirement SurveyThe Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study is a longitudinal survey being conducted by the China Center for Economic Research at Peking University with Professor Yaohui Zhao of Peking University serving as Principal Investigator and Professors John Strauss of the University of Southern...
(CHARLS)