Hertfordshire Cohort Study HES follow-up
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Follow-up of the Hertfordshire Cohort Study through Hospital Episode Statistics
IRAS ID
208811
Contact name
Cyrus Cooper
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 31 days
Research summary
Research Summary
Around 37000 people born between 1911 and 1939 in Hertfordshire, whose births and early years were documented by Health Visitors, are flagged at HSCIC for continuous notification of death under MR278. The legal basis for release of mortality data is Section 251 exemption.
A subset of 2997 men and women who were born between 1931-9 attended baseline clinics during 1998-2004 to characterise their health and genotype. Since then these people have been followed up by repeat clinics and postal questionnaires. In addition, an extract of Hospital Episode Statistics has been obtained covering the period between baseline and 31/03/10. These studies were conducted with patient consent and with the approval of appropriate local ethical committees (Attachment no 6).
Data from Health Visitors’ records, clinics and questionnaires, together with Hospital Episode Statistics and mortality data constitute a valuable national resource for the investigation of lifecourse influences on ageing and mortality. The investigation of the determinants of older adults' use of NHS services has particular policy relevance.
The studies have given rise to over 200 papers in scientific journals, including 4 using HES data.Summary of Results
This study considered the relationships between early life factors (birthweight and weight at one year), adult lifestyle and medical factors such as illnesses and later admission to hospital. We reported rates of hospital admissions among older adults living in the UK from a population generally representative of the UK population. We considered relationships between number of medical conditions and hospital admission, how we could identify those individuals at highest risk with simple tests in primary care.
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EE/0374
Date of REC Opinion
24 Oct 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion