English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)

Overview

Aims
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 including economic position, physical and mental health, labour market activity, retirement and social networks.

Institution
UCL Research Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, Institute for Fiscal Studies, NatCen Social Research & University of Manchester School of Social Sciences

Geographic coverage - Nations
England

Geographic coverage - Regions
Nationwide

Start date
2002

Catalogue record last updated
10/04/2024

Sample

Sample type
Cohort study (Replenished); Ageing cohort

Sample details
Sample members are drawn from respondents to the Health Survey for England (HSE). Around 12,000 respondents from three separate years of the HSE survey were recruited to provide a representative sample of the English population aged 50 and over and their partners. At waves 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10 the study was replenished with new study participants (refreshments) from HSE to maintain the size and representativeness of the panel. Two waves of data were also collected during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Sample size at recruitment
12,100 individuals

Sample size at most recent sweep
7,242 (2023 - Wave 10)

Sex
All

Age at recruitment
50 years +

Cohort year of birth
Varied

Data

Data access
Data request - see data access guidance https://www.elsa-project.ac.uk/accessing-elsa-data

UK Data Service
beta.ukdataservice.ac.uk/datacatalogue/series/series?id=200011

Genetic data collected

Linkage to administrative data
Environmental data
Health data
Income/tax and benefits

HDR UK Innovation Gateway

Additional information

Website
elsa-project.ac.uk

Related themes
Covid-19 data collection, Biomarkers, Cognitive measures, Cognitive decline, Diet and nutrition, Digital technology and social media, Education, Ethnicity and race, Housing, Language and literacy, Loneliness and social isolation, Migration and immigration, Neighbourhood, Physical health assessment, Reproductive health, Sexuality and gender identity, Sleep problems, Social care - receipt, Social care - provision, Social care - need, Socioeconomic status and deprivation, Victimisation and life events, Work and employment

Summary
ELSA is a cohort study that follows participants aged 50 years and older, collecting data on a range of topics including physical and mental health, social networks and economics, in order to understand the ageing process in a nationally representative sample.

Key Papers

Reference paper
Cohort profile: the English longitudinal study of ageing.
doi.org/10.1093/ije/dys168

Impactful papers using study data
Social isolation, loneliness, and all-cause mortality in older men and women. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1219686110

The art of life and death: 14-year follow-up analyses of the association between arts engagement and mortality in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l6377

Immediate and Longer-Term Changes in the Mental Health and Well-being of Older Adults in England During the COVID-19 Pandemic. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.3749

Funders

Mental health measures timeline

Sweep name:

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Physical health measures: