The Whitehall II study: A core resource for ageing research

如果没有稳健的研究设计和高质量的数据，就无法实现科学的高质量和可重复性。对10，308名白厅参与者进行了37年的随访，从中年早期到老年，进行了8次临床检查，链接了电子健康数据和生物储存库，其中包括超过360，000份储存的血液，尿液和头发样本，这是研究衰老和影响慢性疾病发展和进展的因素的独特资源，如阿尔茨海默病和其他痴呆症，心脏代谢疾病和多发性硬化症。为了最大限度地发挥白厅作为科学发现和复制来源的潜力，并根据MRC的建议，我们提出了一个具有成本效益的基础设施，包括一个可访问的生物储存库，并通过与健康记录的链接持续更新白厅参与者的健康结果。因此，我们寻求MRC资金用于生物样本储存，国家登记册数据提取服务以及雇用工作人员维护生物资源，促进生物样本/数据选择和向合作者转移所产生的费用;更新和处理链接的电子健康记录数据;管理与更广泛的研究界的数据共享，确保满足研究治理要求;并策划新的数据发布到英国痴呆症平台，确保最新的数据和衍生变量在发布前得到充分记录和去识别。根据医学研究委员会的建议，该提案不要求支持数据分析或进一步的临床检查。在持续的基础设施支持下，白厅资源将为旨在了解健康老龄化和与年龄相关的疾病的研究做出独特贡献，并继续为预防，临床指南和政策提供信息。

High quality and reproducibility in science cannot be achieved without a robust study design and high-quality data. The 37-year follow-up of 10,308 Whitehall participants from early midlife to old age with 8 clinical examinations, linked electronic health data and a biorepository which includes over 360,000 stored blood, urine, and hair samples is a unique resource for studying ageing and factors that affect the development and progression of chronic conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, cardiometabolic diseases, and multimorbidity. To maximise the potential of Whitehall as a source of scientific discovery and replication and in accordance with recommendations from the MRC, we propose a cost-effective infrastructure that consists of an accessible biorepository and continued update of health outcomes of Whitehall participants via linkage to health records. Accordingly, we seek MRC funding for costs arising from biosample storage, data extraction services from national registers, and employment of staff to maintain the bioresource, facilitate biosample/data selection and transfers to collaborators; to update and process linked electronic health record data; to manage data sharing with the wider research community ensuring research governance requirements are met; and to curate new data for release to Dementia Platform UK ensuring that the most updated data and derived variables are fully documented and deidentified prior to release. As recommended by the MRC, this proposal does not request support for data analysis or further clinical examinations.With continued infrastructure support, Whitehall resource will uniquely contribute to research aimed at understanding healthy ageing and age-related conditions, and continue to inform prevention, clinical guidelines and policy.