The Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD) comprises participants sampled selleck compound from all births in a week in March 1946 and followed up since. In 1999, at age 53 years, men and women were visited by a research nurse and consent for DNA extraction was given by approximately 2900 members of the cohort. Details of the data collected and the several phases of the study are available on the cohort’s website (www.nshd.mrc.ac.uk) and elsewhere [41]. The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) comprises men and women aged 50 years and over who originally participated in the Health Survey for England

in 1998, 1999 or 2001. Fieldwork began in 2002–03 (Phase I) with two-yearly follow-ups and in 2004–05 (Phase II) blood samples were provided by 6231 participants. Details of the cohort have been published [42]. The Hertfordshire Cohort Study (HCS) consists of 2997 participants born 1931–39 and registered with a General Practitioner in East, North or West Hertfordshire who attended a clinic in 1994–2004 (Phase I). A second assessment took place in 2004–05 for participants in East Hertfordshire (Phase II). Further details of study design, data collected and summaries of participant characteristics

have been published [43] and are available on its website (www.mrc.soton.ac.uk/herts). The Boyd Orr cohort is a historical cohort study based on children surveyed in 1937–39 in English and Scottish districts. Participants were followed-up for vital status via Raf inhibitor the NHS Medical Information Cyclooxygenase (COX) Research Service (MIRS) since 1948, with questionnaire administration to survivors in 1997–98 (Phase II) and a research clinic visit in 2002–03 (Phase III), during which DNA was extracted from 728 adults, of which 385 had at least one physical capability measure and one relevant genotype called for this analysis. Details of the study design and the data collected have been described on its website (www.epi.bris.ac.uk/boydorr) and elsewhere [44]. The Caerphilly Prospective Study

(CaPS) recruited 2512 men aged between 45 and 59 years in 1979–83 from the town of Caerphilly, South Wales, and its surrounding villages. Blood samples were collected at baseline and at each of the four follow-ups (Phase II: 1984–88, Phase III: 1989–93, Phase IV: 1993–97 and Phase V: 2002–04.) Further details are available on the cohort’s website (www.epi.bris.ac.uk/caerphilly/caerphillyprospectivestudy.htm). The Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 (LBC1921) participants were all born in 1921 and most completed a cognitive ability assessment at age 11 years. In 1999–2001 (Wave I), at approximately 79 years old, 550 participants living in and around Edinburgh, underwent a series of cognitive and physical tests. Details of the recruitment into the study are available on its website (www.lothianbirthcohort.ed.ac.