45 and Up Study

Principal researchers

Professor Julie Byles ¹

Institution

The Sax Institute
¹University of Newcastle

Funding

$850,000

Co-funded with

Cancer Council NSW
Heart Foundation
NSW Health
NSW Department of Ageing Disability and Home Care
UnitingCare Ageing

Award type

beyondblue grant

Project completion year

2013

Project brief

This study is the largest collaborative research effort ever undertaken in the Australian health field. It is examining what contributes to the maintenance of health and wellbeing throughout later life. The study started in 2002 and will follow people over a number of decades.

The study has recruited more than 265,000 people from across NSW, making it the largest cohort study in the Southern Hemisphere and a unique research resource. As a longitudinal study, follow-up questionnaires are planned at five-yearly intervals to track changes in health. This will allow for ongoing, integrated monitoring of physical and mental health risk factors, disease, treatment and analysis of co-morbid conditions, and outcomes in more than 10 per cent of the population aged 45 and over in New South Wales.

• The study is being auspiced by the Sax Institute in NSW (an independent company established by NSW Health in 2002).
• This study is a collaborative venture bringing together funding partners, policy makers and researchers with an interest in a shared resource into healthy ageing. Funding partners include:
  • Cancer Council NSW
  • Heart Foundation
  • beyondblue
  • NSW Health
  • NSW Department of Ageing Disability and Home Care
  • UnitingCare Ageing

• The study is now fully established as an ‘open resource’ for leading international research, with over 100 projects having been approved.

• beyondblue’s support has enabled the study to include a focus on mental health and has also funded a number of studies of specific interest, including:
  • the mental health of 45 and Up participants
  • mental health and other chronic diseases
  • uptake of mental health MBS items
  • the relationship between mental health measures and socio-demographic factors, chronic health conditions and risk factors for chronic disease
  • data relating to anxiety prevalence.

Papers relating to mental health issues developed by the Sax Institute for beyondblue include:

• A plain language summary of the Generalisability Study
• Data from the K-10 measure of psychological distress and self-reported diagnosis and treatment for depression
• The association between psychological distress, disease, disability and socio-demographic factors
• Detecting transfer to aged care with linked data

Reports can be downloaded by clicking the links above

Links

Further information and resources are available at www.saxinstitute.org.au/our-work/45-up-study/