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Whitehall II
Population Size
0
People
Years
1985
Associated BioSamples
None/not available
Geographic coverage
United Kingdom
Lead time
1-2 months
Summary
The Whitehall II study is a long-term, ongoing cohort study that investigates the social, psychological, and biological factors influencing health and disease in middle-aged and older adults. Initially launched in 1985, it follows over 10,000 British civil servants, collecting extensive data on a wide range of factors, including work-related stress, lifestyle behaviors (such as diet, physical activity, and smoking), socio-economic status, mental health, and biological markers.
DOI for dataset
Documentation
The Whitehall II Study was established in 1985 to investigate the importance of socioeconomic circumstances for health by following a cohort of working men and women aged 35-55 at enrolment. Participants have taken part in eleven data collection phases, six of which have included a medical screening. The 12th is currently underway. The aim of the study is to understand the causes of age-related heterogeneity in health. By combining the existing 28 years of data on social inequalities and chronic disease with new clinical measures of cognitive function, mental disorders and physical functioning, Whitehall II has been transformed interdisciplinary study of ageing. In addition to providing insights into individual and social differences in the development of frailty, disability, dependence, and dementia, the study will enable the determination of optimal time windows and targets for interventions that maximise the potential for healthy-ageing and independent living.
Dataset type
Health and disease, Imaging types, Omics
Dataset sub-type
Not applicable
Keywords
Provenance
Purpose of dataset collection
Study
Biological sample availability
None/not available
Structural Metadata
Details
Publishing frequency
Continuous
Version
1.0.0
Modified
17/02/2025
Coverage
Start date
30/01/1985
Time lag
Not applicable
Geographic coverage
United Kingdom
Minimum age range
35
Maximum age range
55
Follow-up
Continuous
Accessibility
Language
en
Alignment with standardised data models
OTHER
Controlled vocabulary
OTHER
Format
CSV
Data Access Request
Dataset pipeline status
Available
Time to dataset access
1-2 months
Access method category
TRE/SDE
Access service description
The Data Portal runs its analysis environment through a virtual desktop infrastructure accessible via VMWare software. By analysing the data in the virtual desktop environment you are working on DPUK's servers – meaning there is no physical transfer of data to researchers. The processing capacity enables you to work with large numbers of records and integrate these with the other data modalities that exist in the DPUK cohorts. This solution also offers researchers the freedom to conduct their analyses anywhere with an internet connection.
Data Controller
University College London
Data Processor
Dementias Platform UK
Dataset Types: Health and disease, Imaging types, Omics
Collection Sources:
Publications about this dataset
Cohort Profile: the Whitehall II study.Marmot M, Brunner E.
International journal of epidemiology
Published - 2005