HRS: Study Overview
HRS is a longitudinal study of people aged 51 and older and their partners, living in private households in the United States of America. Its main goal is to provide a data resource that allows researchers to examine the aging process and explore the impacts of national-level social and policy changes on individuals. The survey elicits information about demographics, health, cognition, family structure, housing, job status and history, health care use and costs, assets, and income.
In most cases, HRS enrollment interviews are conducted face-to-face. From 1994 to 2004 (Waves 2 to 7), most follow-up interviews were conducted via telephone. Since 2006 (Wave 8), at each wave, half of the respondents complete the enhanced face-to-face (EFTF) interview with a health assessment, biomarker sampling, and a psychosocial survey that is left for the respondents to complete and send back to HRS. The other half of the respondents only complete the core interview by telephone. The half-samples alternate waves so there is an EFTF interview for each respondent every four years.
In addition to the core interview, HRS also collects a number of other types of data.
| End of Life Interview | Conducted starting at Wave 2 with next-of-kin knowledgeable about deceased respondents. |
|---|---|
| Life History Survey | Self-completion survey provided to a sub-sample of respondents between Waves 12 and 13 and Waves 13 and 14. |
| Self-Completion Surveys | Psychosocial self-completion survey provided to a sub-sample of respondents at Wave 7. Psychosocial self-completion survey provided to each half-sample of respondents every two waves starting at Wave 8. Consumption and Activities Mail Survey (CAMS) self-completion survey provided to a sub-sample of respondents every two years starting between Waves 5 and 6. Diabetes Study self-completion survey provided to a sub-sample of respondents between Waves 6 and 7. Prescription Drug Study self-completion survey provided to a sub-sample of respondents between Waves 7 and 8 and Waves 8 and 9. Disability Vignettes Study (DVS) self-completion survey provided to a sub-sample of respondents between Waves 8 and 9. |
| Health Assessment | Conducted every two waves starting at Wave 8 among each half-sample of respondents. |
| Blood-Based Biomarkers | Conducted every two waves between waves 8 and 13 among each half-sample of respondents via dried blood spots. Venous blood was drawn among a sub-sample of respondents at Wave 13 via a trained phlebotomist. |
| Cognitive Assessment | Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS) conducted in four waves between 2001 and 2009 on a sub-sample of respondents aged 70 years and older. The Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) was conducted at Wave 13 among a sub-sample of respondents aged 65 and older. |
| Genetic Data | Saliva collected every two waves starting at Wave 8 among each half-sample of respondents. Genotyping was performed for a sub-sample of respondents using the Illumina HumanOmni2.5 BeadChip. Exome variant measurement was performed for a sub-sample of respondents using the Illumina HumanExome BeadChip. Telomere length measurement was performed for 5,808 Wave 9 respondents using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). |
| Geographic Information | During Waves 1 to 13, respondents provided state, county, ZIP code, Census tract (1990, 2000, 2010), and Beale Urban-Rural Continuum (1993, 2003, 2013) information. Starting in Wave 4, respondents provided parent-state information. Starting in Wave 7, respondents provided city, state, and ZIP code information for any child living more than 10 miles from them. |
The HRS Wave 1 sample included 9,267 selected households containing 15,497 individuals born between 1931 and 1941 and their spouses. The AHEAD Wave 1 sample included 7,509 selected households containing 10,229 individuals born before 1924 and their spouses. HRS and AHEAD merged at HRS Wave 4. Starting at Wave 4, the HRS sample has been refreshed every three waves. When the Wave 4 refreshment sample was drawn, households were selected from the initial probability sample if they had a respondent born between 1942 and 1947 (War Babies). Another refreshment sample was drawn at Wave 4 using a multistage probability sampling of individuals in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services enrollment database that were born between 1924 and 1930 (Children of Depression, COD). When the Wave 7 refreshment sample was drawn, using a second multistage probability sampling of households in the contiguous United States, households were selected if they had a respondent born between 1948 and 1953 (Early Baby Boomers, EBB). When the Wave 10 refreshment sample was drawn, households were selected from the second probability sample if they had a respondent born between 1954 and 1959 (Mid Baby Boomers, MBB). When the Wave 13 refreshment sample was drawn, households were selected from the second probability sample if they had a respondent born between 1960 and1965 (Late Baby Boomers, LBB).
