The Understanding Society study began in 2009, and uses surveys to learn about the lives of people from around 30,000 households across the UK. In 2010-2012, registered nurses visited around 20,000 respondents and asked them questions about their health. They also collected “biomarkers” including lung function, grip strength and weight, and for around 13,000 participants, a blood sample.
What makes Understanding Society special?
- Its representativeness: unlike clinical research cohorts, our participants are selected in a process that ensures the UK population is well-represented (in terms of people’s circumstances, ages and other attributes)
- Its focus on the household: this enables research on family dynamics
- The broad age range of respondents: this allows researchers to focus on different stages of the life course, such as old age
So, why should a social survey devote resources to a biomarker collection? To showcase the insights provided by these data, Understanding Society hosted an event on 30 May 2022 as part of a series celebrating its first ten years. Researchers who have used our biological data presented their findings across a range of topics, all of which explore the ways in which our environment interacts with our biology.
Read the full Blog article on the Understanding Society website here