TILDA: Study Overview
The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) is a prospective cohort study of people aged 50 and older and their partners, living in private households in the Republic of Ireland. Its main goal is to examine how health, social, and financial circumstances interact to influence the aging process of older adults. The survey elicits information about demographics, health, social connectedness, job status and history, income, assets, health care use, and aging perceptions.
The TILDA core interview is carried out every two years through face-to-face interviews using computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) since 2010.
In addition to the core interview, TILDA also collects a number of other types of data.
| End of Life Interview | Conducted starting at Wave 2 with family members or friends knowledgeable about deceased respondents. |
|---|---|
| Self-Completion Survey | General self-completion survey provided to respondents at each wave. |
| Health Assessment | Conducted at Waves 1 and 3 for all respondents via nurse assessment. |
| Blood-Based Biomarkers | Venous blood was drawn during the nurse assessments at Waves 1 and 3. |
| Noninvasive Biomarkers | Hair was collected during the nurse assessments at Waves 1 and 3. |
| Accelerometry | Accelerometers worn on non-dominant wrist for 7 days by a sub-sample of respondents at Wave 3. |
| Brain Imaging | Anatomical and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) conducted at Wave 3 among a sub-sample of respondents. |
| Oral Health Assessment | Conducted at Wave 3 among a sub-sample of respondents via dentist assessment. |
| Covid-19 Interview | Covid-19-related information was gathered among a sub-sample of respondents starting in June 2020 and ending in November 2020. |
The TILDA Wave 1 sample included 9,818 selected households. The TILDA sample has not been refreshed.
