Cohort profile: The Berlin Aging Study II (BASE-II)

Lars Bertram; Anke Böckenhoff; Ilja Demuth; Sandra Düzel; Rahel Eckardt; Shu-Chen Li; Ulman Lindenberger; Graham Pawelec; Thomas Siedler; Gert G Wagner; Elisabeth Steinhagen-Thiessen

doi:10.1093/ije/dyt018

Cohort profile: The Berlin Aging Study II (BASE-II)

Int J Epidemiol. 2014 Jun;43(3):703-12. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyt018. Epub 2013 Mar 14.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Vertebrate Genomics, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin, Germany, Charité Research Group on Geriatrics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Institute of Medical and Human Genetics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany, Department of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany, Center for Medical Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, Department of Economics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany and Berlin University of Technology (TUB), Berlin, Germany.
² Department of Vertebrate Genomics, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin, Germany, Charité Research Group on Geriatrics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Institute of Medical and Human Genetics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany, Department of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany, Center for Medical Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, Department of Economics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany and Berlin University of Technology (TUB), Berlin, GermanyDepartment of Vertebrate Genomics, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin, Germany, Charité Research Group on Geriatrics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Institute of Medical and Human Genetics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany, Department of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany, Center for Medical Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, Department of Economics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany and Berlin University of Technology (TUB), Berlin, Germany.
³ Department of Vertebrate Genomics, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin, Germany, Charité Research Group on Geriatrics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Institute of Medical and Human Genetics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany, Department of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany, Center for Medical Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, Department of Economics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany and Berlin University of Technology (TUB), Berlin, GermanyDepartment of Vertebrate Genomics, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin, Germany, Charité Research Group on Geriatrics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Institute of Medical and Human Genetics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany, Department of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany, Center for Medical Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, Department of Economics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany and Berlin University of Technology (TUB), Berlin, GermanyDepartment of Vertebrate Genomics, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin, Germany, Charité Research Group on Geriatrics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Institute of Medical and Human Genetics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany, Department of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany, Center for Medical Resear
⁴ Department of Vertebrate Genomics, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin, Germany, Charité Research Group on Geriatrics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Institute of Medical and Human Genetics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany, Department of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany, Center for Medical Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, Department of Economics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany and Berlin University of Technology (TUB), Berlin, Germany elisabeth.steinhagen-thiessen@charite.de.

PMID: 23505255
DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyt018

Abstract

Similar to other industrialized countries, Germany's population is ageing. Whereas some people enjoy good physical and cognitive health into old age, others suffer from a multitude of age-related disorders and impairments which reduce life expectancy and affect quality of life. To identify and characterize the factors associated with 'healthy' vs. 'unhealthy' ageing, we have launched the Berlin Aging Study II (BASE-II), a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional project that ascertains a large number of ageing-related variables from a wide range of different functional domains. Phenotypic assessments include factors related to geriatrics and internal medicine, immunology, genetics, psychology, sociology and economics. Baseline recruitment of the BASE-II cohort was recently completed and has led to the sampling of 1600 older adults (age range 60-80 years), as well as 600 younger adults (20-35 years) serving as the basic population for in-depth analyses. BASE-II data are linked to the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), a long-running panel survey representative of the German population, to estimate sample selectivity. A major goal of BASE-II is to facilitate collaboration with other research groups by freely sharing relevant phenotypic and genotypic data with qualified outside investigators.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging / physiology*
Aging / psychology*
Allergy and Immunology
Cohort Studies
Diet
Exercise
Female
Genetics, Medical
Genome-Wide Association Study
Geriatric Assessment / methods*
Germany / epidemiology
Health Behavior
Health Status*
Humans
Male
Mental Health*
Middle Aged
Sexuality
Socioeconomic Factors