Using the Health and Retirement Study for Research on Aging in the United States

Kenneth M. Langa, University of Michigan

The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is an ongoing, National Institute on Aging funded longitudinal study of US adults that has been collecting data since 1992 on a nationally representative sample of about 20,000 individuals aged 51 and older. With nearly 30 years of follow-up, a wide range of publicly available survey, biological, and linked administrative data, and an international network of similar aging studies around the world, the HRS is a valuable source of data for researchers across multiple disciplines. This presentation will provide a general introduction to the HRS, some examples of prior research using the HRS, and information on how interested researchers can access the data.

This talk was part of the 2022 ICPSR Summer Program's Blalock Lecture Series.