English Longitudinal Study of Ageing - Renewal 2024

University College London, London

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Abstract

This application is for competitive renewal of funding of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) to cover two waves of full data collection – wave 12 (2025/26) and wave 13 (2027/28), together with a 3rd administration of the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP). ELSA has been part-funded by NIA since it began in 2002 as a sister study to the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS), with the remaining funding coming from UK Government Departments. The central aim is to provide a nationally representative population research platform for studying the dynamic relationships between socioeconomic position, mental and physical health, cognitive function (including Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias), economic and social circumstances and well-being, as people move from work to retirement and into older age. This application is centered around key scientific issues relevant to population aging, with a particular focus on AD/ADRD and research that can enhance understanding of healthy aging in the USA through comparisons with HRS. These issues include the rising prevalence of AD/ADRD, changing work patterns, digital inclusion, the experience of older ethnic minority men and women, the impact of long-Covid, the increase in unpaid informal caregiving, extreme weather events, and the interaction between genetic, biological, and psychosocial factors. The new data needed to tackle these issues will be linked with existing waves, while innovations in methodology and linkage to multiple registry data will increase the value of the study for researchers worldwide while lowering costs and reducing participant burden. The specific objectives of the new proposal are: Add new content related to the evolving issues in healthy aging, while maintaining core content from previous waves on economics, social participation, cognitive function and dementia, health, biomarkers, genetics, social care, social prescribing, subjective well-being, and psychosocial factors. Interview approximately 10,544 respondents in wave 12 and 10,890 in wave 13, with biomedical and physical performance data collection from all respondents in wave 13. Administer HCAP to 2,000 participants in 2028, to provide a third comprehensive assessment of cognition and AD/ADRD risk that can be related to the HRS and cognitive function in the full sample. Introduce web-first survey methods backed by face-to-face and telephone assessments. Continue to oversample ethnic minorities in the refreshment samples to increase minority representation. Carry out objective assessments of physical activity and sleep (accelerometry) and hearing in Wave 13. Create linkage with health care records, pollution and housing quality data, and financial registry data. Construct 13 waves of accessible and well-documented panel data, increasing accessibility and liaising with HRS, the Gateway and sister aging studies in other countries to maximize international use of ELSA.