# National Social Life, Health and Aging Project: Baby Boom Cohort Wave 2

> **NIH NIH R01** · NATIONAL OPINION RESEARCH CENTER · 2022 · $567,863

## Abstract

The National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP) is a longitudinal study of older adults focused
on mechanisms through which the trajectories of health and social connectivity are intertwined as people age.
Data were first collected in 2005–6 (Cohort 1 Wave 1 or C1W1) from a probability sample of 3,005 community-
dwelling adults born 1920–1947; these respondents were re-interviewed in 2010–11 (C1W2) together with their
co-resident spouses or partners (N=3,377). In 2015–16 (C1W3), all surviving respondents were again re-
interviewed and a new cohort of respondents born 1948–1965 during the Baby Boom was added along with their
spouses/partners (C2W1). Together these data permit estimates for the entire population aged 50–95 in 2015
(N=4,777). Cohort 1 Wave 4 (C1W4) is scheduled for 2020–21 (R01 AG043538). This proposal seeks funding
to collect a second time point of data from the new cohort (C2W2) simultaneously with C1W4.
 Individuals born in different time periods can exhibit substantial differences in health at older ages which may
have important consequences for clinical practice and health policy. NSHAP data currently available allow
researchers to assess health on multiple dimensions across cohorts born from 1920 to 1965. The addition of a
second time point for those born from 1948–65 during the Baby Boom will permit comparing health trajectories
among this cohort to those for older cohorts; by beginning recruitment at age 50, this cohort will also permit
measurement of earlier indicators of trajectories. NSHAP is uniquely suited to comparing cohorts with respect to
the rates of change in intimate and other social relationships (including explicit changes in social networks) and
in health outcomes critical at older ages such as sensory and cognitive function (including Alzheimer's disease
and related dementias), physical activity and function, sleep quality, sexual health and medication use. Moreover,
NSHAP is unique in permitting the study of social and health trajectories within the context of the spouse/partner
relationship, and C2W2 will double the number of couples for whom we have data for multiple timepoints.
 This proposed return visit to the younger cohort provides an opportunity to develop a flexible, robust platform
for multimode data collection with the aim to reduce field costs and ultimately allow an increased frequency of
contact with respondents, including the potential for targeted data collection following a specific health event.
The proposed research involves substantial innovation in methods of and approaches to data collection, which
will benefit both NSHAP and the field as a whole. We also propose innovative additions to NSHAP's
questionnaire content and design, including questions on opioid use, the use of social media, a biological assay
for HPV, and enhancement of cognitive assessment with information on response times that may also be
obtained over the phone. To enhance the use of these data, which we shal...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10401802
- **Project number:** 5R01AG048511-09
- **Recipient organization:** NATIONAL OPINION RESEARCH CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** LINDA J WAITE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $567,863
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-09-15 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10401802

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10401802, National Social Life, Health and Aging Project: Baby Boom Cohort Wave 2 (5R01AG048511-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10401802. Licensed CC0.

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