About the research
This project will help researchers examine the relationship between diet and health with ageing by documenting and comparing available dietary intake information across CLOSER studies. This clarification and documentation of dietary measures in the studies is an essential step for any cross-cohort comparisons of diet and dietary patterns. As an example of the research that is possible using the dietary data contained in the CLOSER studies, the project will explore the association between diet across the lifecourse and allostatic load (the wear and tear on the body), as a marker of ageing.
Although some of the CLOSER studies have included self-reported measures of dietary intake, this project will be the first to fully explore and compare dietary intake information across the studies. Resources from this project will help researchers to address important questions about the links between diet and health with ageing.
Research lead
Dr Jane Maddock (MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, UCL)
Studies used
- 1946 MRC National Survey of Health and Development
- 1958 National Child Development Study
- 1970 British Cohort Study
- Millennium Cohort Study
- Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
- Hertfordshire Cohort Study
- Southampton Women’s Survey
- Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study
Research outputs
- Dataset of any harmonised measures with accompanying documentation. If harmonisation of these measures is unsuccessful, information about the data and attempted harmonisation will be documented in the metadata report.
Resource reports
- Metadata report describing all dietary data and methods of collection to support non-nutrition experts using dietary data across the cohorts.
Papers
Published paper on dietary differences between the cohorts;
Published paper on diet and allostatic load.
Read about other CLOSER data harmonisation projects.
