British Regional Heart Study, 1978-2025: Secure Access

<p><span>The <span style="font-style: italic;">British Regional Heart Study</span> (BRHS) is a long-term cohort investigating the causes and prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in men, and seeking to understand the effect of co-morbidities on CVD and ageing.
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<p><span>The BRHS provides a geographically and socially representative cohort for the prospective investigation of CVD in British men, spanning over four decades. Established in 1978-80, the BRHS has benefited from four repeated assessments of the men at ages in middle (40-59 years) and later life (60-79, 72-91 and 79-98 years). The study includes detailed assessments of risk factor exposures (established and novel CVD risk factors), physical functioning and detailed follow-up on CVD and related outcomes across the adult life from middle age onwards. It is a unique ageing cohort with extensive phenotyping, genotyping and detailed follow-up, and provides a rich resource for the study of healthy cardiovascular ageing in men, including prevention of CVD, stroke, heart failure diabetes and CVD-related morbidity and conditions in older age (disability, frailty, dementia). The BRHS resource will contribute towards gaining a better understanding of the influence of biological ageing on cardiovascular health and the process that leads to mobility disability and poor quality of life in older adults.</span></p>
<p>Further information, including links to publications, can be found on the BRHS webpages at both
<a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/population-health-sciences/epidemiology-health-care/research/ucl-research-department-primary-care-and-population-health/research/ageing/british-regional-heart-study-brhs">
UCL</a><a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/population-health-sciences/epidemiology-health-care/research/ucl-research-department-primary-care-and-population-health/research/ageing/british-regional-heart-study-brhs">
</a>and <a href="https://research.ncl.ac.uk/brhs/">Newcastle University</a>.<br>
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<p>The BRHS cohort has been followed up through periodic postal questionnaires collecting detailed information on a wide range of health-related behaviours, overall health, diagnoses and self-reported symptoms and social factors. <span>Cardiovascular morbidity was ascertained through regular reviews of participants' GP records.  The cohort were followed up for all cause mortality.  Physical examinations were conducted at baseline and at the 20-, 30-, and 40-year follow-ups.</span></p>
<p><span>The collection held at UKDS comprises data from:</span></p>
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<li>the baseline assessment in 1978-1980 (Q1);</li><li>follow up postal surveys conducted in 1983-85 (Q5), 1992 (Q92) and 1996 (Q96);
</li><li>the 20-year follow up assessment in 1998-2000 (Q20); </li><li>postal surveys conducted in 2003 (Q2003), 2005 (Q2005) and 2007 (Q2007); </li><li>the 30-year follow up assessment in 2010-2020 (Q30), and </li><li>follow up postal surveys in 2014 (Q2014), 2015 (Q2015), 2016 (Q2016), 2017 (Q2017);</li><li>the 40-year follow-up assessment in 2018-19; </li><li>postal surveys conducted in 2020 (Q2020) and 2023 (Q2023); and</li><li>a follow-up for Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) morbidity through General Practice (GP) records.</li><li>Derived mortality data - ICD 9 and perturbed date of death</li><li>Mortality Follow-up data in 1978-80 (Q1) to August 2025</li><li>Cancer Follow-up data in 1978-80 (Q1) to August 2024</li><li>Event Outcomes data for Q1, Q20, Q30 (both physical examination and questionnaire) and Q40 (both physical examination and questionnaire).</li></ul>
<p><span>Please see the<b> BRHS data user guide</b> for more details.</span></p>
<p><span>The BRHS Data User Guide provides essential information for researchers using data from the British Regional Heart Study. It gives a detailed introduction to the British Regional Heart Study and comprehensive documentation to support researchers in accessing, understanding, and using the BRHS data.</span></p>
<p><span><span style="font-style: italic;">Secure Access conditions</span><br></span>These data are subject to secure access conditions. Use of the data requires approval from the data owner. Registered UKDS users must apply for access via a Secure Access application, and must complete the Safe Researcher Training course.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Latest edition information<br></span>For the second edition (March 2026), new Follow-Up Cancer data and Event Outcomes data (Q1, Q20, Q30 and Q40) have been added for the period 1978-80 (Q1) to 2024. New Follow-Up Mortality data has also been added for the period 1978-80 (Q1) to 2025 and the All Follow-Up Non-Fatal Events data file has been updated to include 2024. The documentation, including the User Guide, has also been updated in line with these changes.</p>
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