LPS in the UK LLC partnership#
Last modified: 30 Oct 2024
Introduction#
The UK has a world-leading portfolio of around 100 longitudinal population studies (LPS), which have collected detailed phenotypic and biological information on over three million members of the UK public. Data collected by LPS include in-depth measures of physical and mental health, lifestyle, environmental and socio-economic measures, alongside biological samples.
Table 1 provides an overview of the 22 LPS that are part of UK LLC. Currently data are available for request from 20 of them - data from AIRWAVE and UK-REACH will flow shortly. UK LLC remains open to additional LPS joining the partnership through a formalised onboarding process.
Most LPS have published cohort profiles which give detailed information about each LPS - to access these, click on the LPS name in Table 1 (some publications may require library licences to access, but most will be free and publicly accessible).
Visit UK LLC Explore to discover more about each LPS and their datasets, including variable names, labels and values.
Table 1 A summary of the 22 longitudinal population studies (LPS) that are in the UK LLC partnership (listed in alphabetical order)
LPS Name |
Summary |
Coverage |
Cohort |
Years |
Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Established to evaluate possible health risks associated with the use of TETRA, a digital communication system used by the police and other emergency services since 2001. AIRWAVE monitors both cancer and non-cancer health outcomes. |
England, Scotland, Wales |
53,280 police officers and staff aged 17 years and above recruited between 2004 and 2015 |
2004- |
Imperial College London |
|
ALSPAC or Children of the 90s is a multigenerational study of the environmental and genetic factors that affect a person’s health and development. |
England |
c. 14,000 pregnant women recruited between 1991 and 1992 |
1991- |
University of Bristol |
|
BCS70 follows the lives of people born in 1970. Data are collected about health, physical, cognitive and social development, education and employment, and home lives. |
England, Scotland, Wales |
c. 17,000 babies born in a single week of 1970 |
1970- |
University College London |
|
BIB tracks the health and wellbeing of children from multiple ethnic backgrounds, from pregnancy, through childhood and into adult life, and their parents. BIB collects a wide range of data including health, environmental, educational and genetic. |
England |
c. 13,5000 children born at Bradford Royal Infirmary between March 2007 and December 2010 and their parents |
2007- |
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
|
ELSA collects data from people aged over 50 to understand all aspects of ageing, including physical and mental health, wellbeing, finances and attitudes around ageing. |
England |
c. 18,000 adults aged 50 years and over, with recruitment ongoing |
2002- |
University College London |
|
EPIC Norfolk: The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer Norfolk Study |
EPIC Norfolk recruited at 35 GP practices in Norfolk. Data are collected about health, diet and physical activity. |
England |
c. 30,000 adults aged 40-79 years, recruited 1993-1998 |
1993- |
University of Cambridge |
EXCEED collects information from people about genes and lifestyle to provide insight into environmental influences on long-term health. |
England |
c. 11,000 adults aged 18 and over, with recruitment ongoing |
2013- |
University of Leicester |
|
FENLAND investigates the interaction between environmental and genetic factors in determining obesity, type 2 diabetes and related metabolic disorders. |
England |
12,435 adults born between 1950 and 1975 |
2005- |
University of Cambridge |
|
GENSCOT collects data about participants and their families to improve the health and well-being of current and future generations. |
Scotland |
c. 24,000 people aged 12 years and over, with recruitment ongoing |
2006- |
Universiy of Edinburgh |
|
GLAD explores genetic risk factors for depression and/or anxiety. |
UK |
c. 40,000 people aged 16 years and over, with recruitment ongoing |
2018- |
King’s College London |
|
MCS follows the lives of people born 2000-2002. Data are collected about physical, socio-emotional, cognitive and behavioural development, as well as information about daily life, behaviour and experiences. Both resident parents also contribute data about economic circumstances, relationships and family life. |
UK |
18,818 babies born in 2000-2002 |
2000- |
University College London |
|
NCDS58 follows the lives of people born in 1958. Data are collected about physical and educational development, economic circumstances, employment, family life, health behaviour, wellbeing, social participation and attitudes, including towards retirement and ageing. |
England, Scotland, Wales |
17,415 babies born in a single week of 1958 |
1958- |
University College London |
|
NEXTSTEP follows the lives of people born 1989-1990. Data are collected about education and employment, economic circumstances, family life, physical and emotional health and wellbeing, social participation and attitudes. |
England |
c. 16,000 people born between 1989 and 1990 recruited in 2004 when they were in year 9 at school |
2004- |
University College London |
|
NICOLA: Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing |
NICOLA collects data from people aged over 50 to better understand ageing, including physical and mental health, wellbeing, finances and attitudes around ageing. |
Northern Ireland |
c. 8,500 adults aged 50 years and over recruited 2013-2016, with limited additional recruitment |
2013- |
Queen’s University Belfast |
NIHRBIO_COPING: NIHR BioResource COVID-19 Psychiatry and Neurological Genetics Study |
NIHRBIO_COPING assesses the impact of COVID-19 on mental and neurological health. |
UK |
c. 150,000 people aged 16 years and over, with recruitment ongoing |
2020- |
University of Cambridge |
NSHD46 is the oldest and longest running of the British birth cohort studies and has informed UK health care, education and social policy. |
England, Scotland, Wales |
5,362 singleton babies born in March 1946 |
1946- |
University College London |
|
SABRE is the largest tri-ethnic population-based cohort in the UK, involving European, Indian Asian and African Caribbean people. It investigates the causes of diabetes and disorders of the heart and circulation. |
England |
4,858 adults aged 40-69 years recruited 1988-1991 |
1988- |
University College London |
|
TEDS investigates how genetic and environmental factors shape individual differences in cognitive and learning abilities, behaviour and emotions in the context of typical development. |
England, Wales |
c. 15,000 pairs of twins born between 1994 and 1996 |
1994- |
King’s College London |
|
TRACKC19: TRACK-COVID Study |
TRACKC19 recruited approximately 20,000 people in the community to understand why some have COVID-19 symptoms while others do not. Biological and health data are collected. |
England |
c. 20,000 adults who participated in the INTERVAL, COMPARE and STRIDES studies |
2020-2021 |
University of Cambridge |
TWINSUK follows the lives of twins to understand how genetic variation relates to health and ageing. It is the largest adult twin registry in the UK and the most clinically detailed in the world. |
UK |
c. 15,000 adults who are identical or non-identical twins, with recruitment ongoing |
1992- |
King’s College London |
|
UKHLS: Understanding Society – the UK Household Longitudinal Study |
UKHLS collects behavioural, economic, social and genetic data from households to explore the experiences of people living in the UK. |
UK |
c. 40,000 households recruited in 2009, including 8,000 from the original British Household Panel Survey, which ran from 1991-2009 |
2009- |
University of Essex |
UK-REACH: The UK Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 outcomes in Healthcare workers |
Established to understand why ethnic minority healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of poorer outcomes from COVID-19 when compared with their White ethnic counterparts in the UK. |
UK |
17,891 HCWs aged 16–89 years (mean age 44 years) |
2020- |
University of Leicester |
1GLAD includes the Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative (EDGI) and COVID-19 Psychiatry and Neurological Genetics (COPING) Study.
2TEDS includes the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study.