#longitudinal-studies

#longitudinal-studies

The genius of her approach is that she realised there was a goldmine of just such solid data waiting to be interrogated in the so-called cohort studies involving tens of thousands of people and extending over decades, which have been conducted in the UK as a function of epidemiological studies. They contain detailed medical information, including psychological data, as well as assessments of peoples' education, economic status, work and lifestyle.

Longitudinal studies - which follow individuals to collect data about health, lifestyle and environment over a period of months, years or even decades - have helped researchers understand disease risk, inform prevention strategies and improve public health planning. But the majority of large-scale longitudinal research has historically taken place in Europe or North America, meaning many populations remain under-represented in the data.

When thinking about large-scale cancer studies, one of the groups that have been left behind have been Black women," she says.

Longitudinal studies - which follow individuals to collect data about health, lifestyle and environment over a period of months, years or even decades - have helped researchers understand disease risk, inform prevention strategies and improve public health planning. But the majority of large-scale longitudinal research has historically taken place in Europe or North America, meaning many populations remain under-represented in the data. A new generation of longitudinal studies is aiming to better reflect population diversity - not just by recruiting from underserved groups, but by embedding community involvement, local scientific leadership and context-specific questions into their design.