The Department of Health Elderly Health Service Cohort in Hong Kong was set up to promote understanding of ageing in a global context. The initial cohort, enrolled from July 1998 to the end of December 2001, includes 66,820 people aged 65 years or older, forming about 9% of the population of Hong Kong of this age. A comprehensive health assessment was made at enrolment and then repeated regularly on an ongoing basis. The mean age of participants at baseline was 72.4 years and ranged from 65 to 105 years, with 66% women. The cohort is now being extended to include enrollees in subsequent years. Including the 66,820 who enrolled from 1998 to 2001, there are now around 130,000 elders who have enrolled since 1998.
Study design
Cohort
Number of participants at first data collection
66,820 (participants)
Recruitment is ongoing
Age at first data collection
≥ 65 years (participants)
Participant year of birth
Varied (participants)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
1998
Primary Institutions
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Government, Hong Kong)
University of Hong Kong (香港大學, HKU) (Academic, Hong Kong)
Links
No website available
Profile paper DOI
Funders
Government of Hong Kong SAR (Government, Hong Kong)
Health and Health Services Research Fund (now known as Health and Medical Research Fund, HMRF)F) (Research council, Hong Kong)
Hong Kong Health Services Research Fund (HSRF) (Research council, Hong Kong)
Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) (Research council, Hong Kong)
Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases (Third Sector, Hong Kong)
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected


Engagement
Keywords