Health and Retirement Study

Description: National longitudinal study of the economic, health, marital, and family status, as well as public and private support systems, of older Americans. The National Institute on Aging provided funding (NIA U01 AG009740), with supplemental support from the Social Security Administration. The Institute for Social Research (ISR) Survey Research Center (SRC) at the University of Michigan conducted the survey. Over time, the HRS has added respondents from different age cohorts to develop a sample of more than 20,000 respondents over the age of 50, providing researchers with a rich collection of information on an aging America.

Coverage: National

Description of Cohort:
Nationally representative sample of patients by age cohort:
AHEAD study, before merge with HRS in 1998: Patients born before 1924 (age 70+ in 1997)
Children of the Depression (b. 1924 – 1930)
War Babies (b. 1942-1947)
Early Baby Boomers (b. 1948 – 1953)
Mid Baby Boomers (b. 1954 – 1959)
Late Baby Boomers (b. 1960 – 1964)