The initial English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) sample is mostly composed of respondents aged 50 years and over, living in England, who participated in the Health Survey for England (HSE). The HSE data was collected in 1998, 1999, and 2001. The first wave of ELSA data collection occurred in 2002/03. Six waves of data were collected at approximately two year intervals (2002/03, 2004/05, 2006/07, 2008/09, 2010/11, 2012/13).
#Measures
(animals) The animal naming task was used as a measure of verbal fluency. Participants were instructed to name as many animals as they could remember in one minute. Data for verbal fluency is available from wave one to six.
A word recall test was used to assess immediate memory recall. Participants were presented with 10 nouns aurally from a computer at two second intervals. Immediately after all words were presented, participants were instructed to recall as many words as possible. Respondents were given up to two minutes to recall the words; and scores range from 0 to 10. Data for immediate recall is available from wave one to six.
A word recall test was used to assess delayed memory recall. Participants were presented with 10 nouns aurally by a computer at two second intervals. After a short delay (during which participants are asked to complete the animal naming task and the letter cancelation task), participants were instructed to recall as many words as possible. Respondents were given up to two minutes to recall the words; and scores range from 0 to 10. Data for delayed recall is available from wave one to six.
A letter cancellation task was used to asses processing speed. Participants were give a page that contained 780 random letters (26 rows, 30 columns) and asked to cross out as many of the letters “P” and “W” in one minute. Participants were asked to follow the lines of the page as if they were reading. Data for processing speed is available from wave one to six.
To assess walking speed, participants were asked to walk a distance of eight feet at their usual pace. Use of walking aids was permitted in the test. Only participants who could complete the task on their own or who were not in danger of falling were asked to take the test. The task was completed twice and the mean of the two measurements was calculated. Data for walking speed is available from wave one to six.
The participants were instructed to stand on one leg and lift the other leg as long as possible for a maximum of 30 seconds. The participants were asked to keep their eyes open during the task. Participants who were able to complete the first task were instructed to complete the same task with their eyes closed. Data for the leg raise test is available for wave two, four, six.
First, the participants were instructed to complete the side by side tandem task of standing with their feet together, side-by-side, for about 10 seconds. Participants who were able to complete this first task were instructed to complete the semi tandem task of standing with the side of the heel of one foot touching the big toe of the other foot for about 10 seconds. Participants who were able to complete this task, were asked to move on to the full tandem task of standing with the heel of one foot in front of and touching the toes of the other foot for about 10 or 30 seconds. Data for balance is available for wave two, four, six.
Participants were instructed to stand up from a chair with their arms across their chest. Participants who completed this first task were instructed to stand up and sit as quickly as possible for 5 or 10 times without stopping in between and without using their arms. Data for chair rise is available for wave two, four, six.
Participants were instructed to hold a hand grip for two or three seconds. Three measurements were taken from each hand. Data for grip is available for wave two, four, six.
The volume in litres expelled in the first second of a forced expiration was measured in litres. A Spirometer (Vitalograph Micro) was used. Three measurements were taken and the highest score was used as the valid value. High values indicate better lung function. Data for FEV is available for wave two, four, six.
The full volume expelled following a maximum inspiration was measured in litres. A Spirometer (Vitalograph Micro) was used. Three measurements were taken and the highest score was used as the valid value. High values indicate better lung function. Data for FVC is available for wave two, four, six.
The fastest rate of exhalation recorded in litres per minute. A Spirometer (Vitalograph Micro) was used. Three measurements were taken and the highest score was used as the valid value. High values indicate better lung function. PEF is only available at wave 6.
A number of covariates were included at baseline including
- age (age in years at wave 2),
- height (height in cm),
- level of educational attainment (seven categories, categorized as a bivariate variable; no qualification=0 and some education =1), and
- smoking history (1 =yes, 0 = no).
- Cardiovascular disease was computed to account for whether or not participants had been told by their doctor that they had angina, a heart attack or congestive heart failure and a
- diabetes variables was computed to account for whether or not participants had been told by their doctor that they had diabetes.