The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study
Networks
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Datasets
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Variables
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The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) aims to collect a high quality nationally representative sample of Chinese residents ages 45 and older to serve the needs of scientific research on the elderly.
- Start Year
- 2011
Visit CHARLS
| Investigators | Contacts |
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Design
- Study design
- Cohort
- Follow Up
- CHARLS respondents are followed every 2 years, using a face-to-face computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI). Physical measurements are conducted at every follow-up and blood-sample collection is done once in every two follow-up cycles.
- Supplementary Information
Marker Paper
Zhao Y, Hu Y, Smith JP, Strauss J, Yang G. Cohort Profile: The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). International Journal of Epidemiology. 2014;43(1):61-68.
PUBMED 23243115
Recruitment
- Recruitment Target
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- Individuals
- Other : Spouses
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 17,708
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 12,122
Access
Availability of data and biosamples
| Possible Access to Data | |
| Possible Access to Biosamples | |
| Other |
Timeline
CHARLS - Population
Nationally representative sample of Chinese residents ages 45 and older and their spouses.
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
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45
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
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- China
- Territory
- All counties with the exception of Tibet
- Ethnic Origin
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- Health Status
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- Other Criteria
- Supplementary Information about selection criteria
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
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- General population
- General Population
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- Selected sample
- Supplementary Information
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Samples were chosen through multistage probability sampling. The sample was stratified by region and within region by urban districts or rural counties and per capita statistics on gross domestic product (GDP). Because no pre-existing sampling frame of residents existed, mapping and listing operations within each village-level unit was conducted to obtain the sampling frame for CHARLS. If more than one household was found within each dwelling unit, a household with a member 45 years of age or older was randomly selected. If the chosen household had more than one age-eligible member, one of them was randomly selected and both that person and his or her spouse were interviewed.
- Participants from Existing Studies
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Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 17,708
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 12,122
- Supplementary Information about selection criteria
- 10 069 were main respondents randomly selected after the randomization procedures for the survey, and 7639 were spouses of main respondents.
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
CHARLS - Baseline
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The interviews were performed at the respondents’ home using a face-to-face computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI). The core questionnaires included sections directed at: ... |
2011-06 | 2012-03 |
| 1 |
CHARLS - Follow-up 1
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The interviews were performed at the respondents’ home using a face-to-face computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI). The core questionnaires included sections directed at: ... |
2013-06 | 2014-03 |
Classifications
- Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
- Lifestyle and behaviours
- Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
- Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
- Diseases
- Symptoms and signs
- Medication and supplements
- Non-pharmacological interventions
- Health and community care services utilization
- Death
- Physical measures and assessments
- Laboratory measures
- Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
- Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
- Preschool, school and work life
- Social environment and relationships
- Physical environment
- Administrative information
- Cognitive functioning
- Personality
- Psychological distress and emotions
- Other psychological measures and assessments
Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
Age/birthdate
Sex/gender
Marital/partner status
Family and household structure
Education
Residence
Birthplace
Citizenship and immigrant status
Ethnicity, race and religion
Labour force and retirement
Income, possessions, and benefits
Other socio-demographic and economic characteristics
Lifestyle and behaviours
Tobacco
Alcohol
Nutrition
Physical activity
Transportation
Sleep
Leisure activities
Technological devices
Other and unspecified lifestyle information
Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
Puberty, menstruation, menopause and andropause
Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
Perception of health
Quality of life
Functional limitations
Use of assistive devices
Other perception of health, quality of life and functional limitation-related information
Diseases
Certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
Neoplasms (C00-D48)
Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism (D50-D89)
Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90)
Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99)
Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99)
Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H59)
Diseases of the ear and mastoid process (H60-H95)
Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99)
Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)
Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K93)
Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99)
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99)
Diseases of the genitourinary system (N00-N99)
Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T98)
External causes of morbidity and mortality (V01-Y98)
Diseases without precise specification or falling into multiple categories
Symptoms and signs
Symptoms and signs involving the circulatory and respiratory systems (R00-R09)
Symptoms and signs involving the digestive system and abdomen (R10-R19)
Symptoms and signs involving the skin and subcutaneous tissue (R20-R23)
Symptoms and signs involving nervous and musculoskeletal systems (R25-R29)
Symptoms and signs involving the urinary system (R30-R39)
Symptoms and signs involving cognition, perception, emotional state and behaviour (R40-R46)
Symptoms and signs involving speech and voice (R47-R49)
General symptoms and signs (R50-R69)
Symptoms related to multiple categories
Medication and supplements
Medication and supplement intake
Non-pharmacological interventions
Surgical interventions
Radiological interventions
Physical therapy interventions
Cognitive, psychological and sensory interventions
Educational and health promotion interventions
Laboratory diagnosis interventions
Other and unspecified non-pharmacological interventions
Health and community care services utilization
Visits to health professionals
Hospitalizations
Community and social care
Other health and community care
Death
Vital status
Cause of death
Other end of life or death-related information
Physical measures and assessments
Physical characteristics
Anthropometry
Circulation and respiration
Muscles, skeleton and mobility
Laboratory measures
Virology
Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
Cognitive functioning
Psychological distress and emotions
Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
Life plans
Beliefs and values
Preschool, school and work life
Work life
Social environment and relationships
Social network
Social participation
Social support
Other social environment characteristics
Physical environment
Housing characteristics
Built environment/neighbourhood characteristics
Workplace characteristics
Chemical exposure
Other physical environment characteristics
Administrative information
Identifiers
Date and time-related information
Questionnaire and interview-related information
Physical and cognitive measure and biosample-related information
Data and sample collection center-related information
Other administrative information
Cognitive functioning
Delayed Word Recall
Immediate Free Word Recall Test
Pentagon Drawing Test
Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status
Psychological distress and emotions
Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale