About Twenty-07: What is measured?

At the end of the Study each participant had been surveyed five times. A nurse conducted the interview with each participant and recorded the following information.

 
Self-reported health

• General well-being
• Symptoms of illness (if any)
• Chronic (long term) conditions
• Disabilities
• Vision
• Hearing
• Mental health
• Use of health care services
• Use of medication

 

Physical health

Height (standing and sitting)	Weight
Waist and hips	Blood pressure reaction to stress test
Blood pressure and pulse rate
Grip strength*
Respiratory (lung function) test
Bio-impedance (a measure of internal body fat)*	Cognition Reaction time Reasoning test

 

Life circumstances

• Family structure
• Household composition
• Home owner or tenant, condition of the house/flat
• Ownership of household goods
• Level of housework and caring responsibilities
• Family health
• Employment
• Occupation and work environment
• Income
• Family networks
• Social support
• Life events e.g. recent marriages, deaths, new babies, etc.

 

Behaviours

• Diet
• Exercise
• Smoking
• Alcohol and illegal drug use
• Sexual behaviour and contraceptive use
• Preventative health care use e.g. breast cancer screening
• Illness behaviour
• Social participation
• Leisure activities
• Criminal activities

 

Beliefs, attitudes and values

• Concepts of health
• Beliefs about illness
• Health knowledge
• Self esteem
• Beliefs about control over life and health
• Religious beliefs
• Worries
• Beliefs about gender, age and marital roles
• Life satisfaction
• Opinions

 

Biological Samples

• General measure of immune system (sIgA from saliva)**
• Risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity (cholesterol, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, HbA1c, ADMA, leptin)*
• General health (measures of liver and kidney function, full blood count, blood cell ageing from telomere length)*
• DNA*

*      Measured in 2007/08 only
**    Measured in 1995 only