Mature Adults Cohort of the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH-MAC)
MLSFH-MAC investigates ageing in rural low-income contexts. The study recruited participants aged at least 45 years from the existing Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH) study sites in Rumphi, Mchinji, and Balaka districts in Malawi. Potential participants were required to have been interviewed in both the 2008 and 2010 MLSFH data collection sweeps to facilitate the linkage of data. To increase the representation of HIV-positive (HIV+) participants, eligible HIV+ participants were included if they attended either the 2008 or the 2012 MLSFH data collection sweep. At baseline data collection in 2012, over 1,200 participants were enrolled in the study. As participants of the MLSFH reach the age of eligibility for MLSFH-MAC, they are added to the cohort on a yearly basis.
Study design
Cohort
Number of participants at first data collection
1,266 (participants)
Recruitment is ongoing
Age at first data collection
≥ 45 years (participants)
Participant year of birth
Varied (participants)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
2012
Primary Institutions
Compelling Works (CW)
Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHES)
University of Malawi
University of Pennsylvania
Profile paper DOI
Funders
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Rockefeller Foundation (RF)
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Computer, paper or task testing (e.g. cognitive testing, theory of mind doll task, attention computer tasks)
- Interview – face-to-face
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Secondary data
- Interviews or focus groups
- None
- Existing research data
Engagement
Keywords
Consortia and dataset groups
