Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Study (DMHDS)
The Dunedin Study is a longitudinal study of the health, development, and well-being of a general sample of New Zealanders. It is a birth cohort and has followed the lives of 1,037 babies born between 1 April 1972 and 31 March 1973 at Queen Mary Maternity Hospital in Dunedin, New Zealand. The study was established at the first follow-up at age 3. Perinatal data were available from a larger perinatal health study run between 1968 and 1973. Since then, the participants have been assessed every two years, until the age of 15, then again at ages 18, 21, 26, 32, 38, and 45. As of May 2025, the age 52 assessment is underway.
Study design
Cohort - birth
Number of participants at first data collection
1,037 (participants)
Age at first data collection
Birth (perinatal data linkage)
3 years (participants)
Participant year of birth
1972 - 1973 (participants)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
The population of Dunedin, New Zealand.
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
1968 (perinatal data linkage)
1975 (Dunedin Study)
Primary Institutions
University of Otago (Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka)
Profile paper DOI
Funders
Health Research Board (HRB)
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Neurological Foundation
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Activity log (e.g. food, sleep, exercise)
- Audio or visual recordings (e.g. of child behaviour, facial expressions)
- Computer, paper or task testing (e.g. cognitive testing, theory of mind doll task, attention computer tasks)
- Interview – face-to-face
- Interview – phone
- Physical environment assessment (e.g. pollution, mould)
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Secondary data
- Self-report questionnaire – paper or computer assisted
- Wearable devices
- Interviews or focus groups
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Geographic, spatial & environmental data
- Healthcare data
- Medical birth registry
- Mortality data
- Other government data
- Police & judicial system data
- Tax, income & benefit data
Engagement
Keywords
Consortia and dataset groups
