A groundbreaking new longitudinal population study and data platform will offer an unparalleled opportunity to understand health and developmental trajectories from puberty to adulthood of adolescents in the 2020s post COVID-19.
The Adolescent Health Study
The study is funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Infrastructure Fund through the Medical Research Council (MRC).
It aims to follow the health of at least 100,000 eight to 18-year-olds over a minimum of 10 years, collecting biological and lifestyle data.
It will have an innovative design that is being co-developed with a diverse range of young people.
Understudied life stage
Adolescence is a critical period of biological, cognitive and social change, which is currently an understudied life stage.
This study will ensure participation of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, crucial for examining physiological, genetic and social determinants of health and health inequalities.
The study will particularly engage with traditionally under-included groups.
Leadership and co-development
Professor Cathie Sudlow has been appointed Director of the study, bringing over 15 years of experience leading large-scale, collaborative, open-science initiatives to her leadership of this £62 million UK investment.
Professor Sudlow will begin work to develop the initial pilot phase of the study which will be co-designed with young people and diverse groups of partners.
Socioeconomic and cultural change
AHS Director, Cathie Sudlow, said:
I am excited to be leading the creation of the Adolescent Health Study resource.
We are in a period of profound socioeconomic and cultural change.
It is critically important that we understand the impacts on the health and wellbeing of young people.
The study is already working actively with a young people’s advisory group.
Young people are helping to shape the Adolescent Health Study, including our plans for recruiting and following participants, and the data and samples we will collect.
Recruitment through schools
Participant recruitment will be primarily through schools.
The pilot will address barriers to participation as well as:
- equitable involvement
- parental involvement
- incentives
- technology
- ongoing engagement
Data and access
The rich study data will include information on:
- diet
- brain development
- puberty milestones
- young peoples’ interactions with digital and social media
- mental health issues
- lifestyle factors such as smoking and vaping
The study will become a data resource for research.
It will store all the collected information in a secure data environment, allowing researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders to understand health trajectories and outcomes for young people.
Key national infrastructure
MRC Executive Chair, Professor Patrick Chinnery, said:
I’d like to congratulate Professor Sudlow on her appointment.
Under her leadership I know the AHS is in great hands and will fulfil MRC’s vision to ensure a strong scientific foundation for effective strategies to improve young people’s health and reduce health disparities
The study will become a key national infrastructure, contributing to the UK’s world-leading research assets, underpinned by a wealth of longitudinal population-based studies.
It will learn from and complement other studies, such as the ESRC-led Early Life Cohort, and will be part of Population Research UK.
Longitudinal population studies
For more than 60 years, MRC has funded an unparalleled range of longitudinal population studies.
They have provided a wealth of data for studying health and wellbeing and contributing to public health policy and changes in clinical practice.
For example, the MRC National Survey of Health and Development has followed participants from their birth in 1946 to the present day, making it the oldest birth cohort study in the world.
And since 2006, UK Biobank has collected an unprecedented amount of biological and medical data on half a million UK adults, aged between 40 to 69 years at recruitment.
Addressing a critical gap
The UKRI Infrastructure Fund also supports:
- UK Biobank
- Early Life Cohort
- Population Research UK
However, there is a critical gap covering the transition from childhood and adolescence into adulthood, which the AHS will address.
Top image: Credit: SolStock, E+ via Getty Images
