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Whitehall II

Population Size

0

People

Population Size statistic card

Years

1985

Years statistic card

Associated BioSamples

None/not available

Associated BioSamples statistic card

Geographic coverage

United Kingdom

Geographic coverage statistic card

Lead time

1-2 months

Lead time statistic card

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

https://doi.org/10.48532/048000

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

Associated media

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/epidemiology-health-care/research/epidemiology-and-public-health/research/whitehall-ii

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

Access rights

https://portal.dementiasplatform.uk/Apply/DataAccessPolicy

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