Longitudinal data for interdisciplinary ageing research. Design of the Linnaeus Database.
BACKGROUND
To allow for interdisciplinary research on the relations between socioeconomic conditions and health in the ageing population, a new anonymized longitudinal database - the Linnaeus Database - has been developed at the Centre for Population Studies at Umeå University. This paper presents the database and its research potential.


METHODS
Using the Swedish personal numbers the researchers have, in collaboration with Statistics Sweden and the National Board for Health and Welfare, linked individual records from Swedish register data on death causes, hospitalization and various socioeconomic conditions with two databases - Betula and VIP (Västerbottens Intervention Programme) - previously developed by the researchers at Umeå University. Whereas Betula includes rich information about e.g. cognitive functions, VIP contains information about e.g. lifestyle and health indicators.


METHODS
The Linnaeus Database includes annually updated socioeconomic information from Statistics Sweden registers for all registered residents of Sweden for the period 1990 to 2006, in total 12,066,478. The information from the Betula includes 4,500 participants from the city of Umeå and VIP includes data for almost 90,000 participants. Both datasets include cross-sectional as well as longitudinal information.
Due to the coverage and rich information, the Linnaeus Database allows for a variety of longitudinal studies on the relations between, for instance, socioeconomic conditions, health, lifestyle, cognition, family networks, migration and working conditions in ageing cohorts.


CONCLUSIONS
By joining various datasets developed in different disciplinary traditions new possibilities for interdisciplinary research on ageing emerge.
Malmberg
Gunnar
G
Centre for Population Studies/Ageing and Living Conditions Programme, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. gunnar.malmberg@geography.umu.se
Nilsson
Lars-Göran
LG
Weinehall
Lars
L
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D002423:Cause of Death; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D012042:Registries; D012107:Research Design; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology