Insight into a maturing population
The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) is a unique and rich resource of information on the health, social, wellbeing and economic circumstances of the English population aged 50 and older. The current sample contains data from up to eight waves of data collection covering a period of 15 years.
ELSA includes objective and subjective data relating to health and disability, biological markers of disease, economic circumstance, social participation, nutrition, networks and well-being. The multidisciplinary and longitudinal nature of the data allows for the examination of complex relationships and causal processes.
The multidisciplinary and longitudinal nature of the data allows for the examination of complex relationships and causal processes.
News and updates
October 2018
ELSA wave 8 launch conference and report
The launch of the ELSA wave 8 report will take place on Thursday 18th October 2018, at the Royal Society in London. The wave 8 report will be available to download on the main reports page on the same day.
The syntax for the derived variables for the report tables will also be available here following the publication of the wave 8 report.
September 2018
Accessing ELSA data
The ELSA dataset is freely available to all bonafide researchers but an account will need to be set up for you.
Please contact the UK Data Service to gain access to the data.
July 2018
Association between socioeconomic status and dementia incidence may be driven by wealth rather than education
Recent evidence indicates that dementia rates have decreased in the last few decades in the United Kingdom and other parts of Western Europe, with the greatest declines apparent in those with higher educational attainment relative to more basic educational attainment.
However, less clear is the extent to which other socioeconomic markers such as wealth, income, and area deprivation contribute to dementia risk. ELSA data were used to investigate the associations between markers of socioeconomic status (wealth quintiles and the index of multiple deprivation) and dementia incidence. To investigate outcomes associated with age cohorts, two independent groups were derived using a median split (born between 1902-1925 and 1926-1943).
The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, is the first of its kind to determine which socioeconomic factors influence dementia and found that limited wealth in late life is associated with increased risk of dementia, independent of education.
Cadar, Lassale et al. JAMA Psychiatry 2018; 75:723-732
