Cohort profile: Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle (OPAL) Study, a prospective cohort study of older adults in England

Purpose The ‘Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle’ (OPAL) Cohort is a longitudinal, prospective cohort study of adults, aged 65 years and older, living in the community which is investigating the determinants of health in later life. Our focus was on musculoskeletal pain and mobility, but the cohort...

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Main Authors: Sarah E Lamb, Christian D Mallen, M Watson, Julie Bruce, S Dutton, S Petrou, Lesley Ward, Maria T Sanchez Santos, Esther Williamson, Angela Garrett, Alana Morris, O Conway, F Darton, D Hagan, D Haywood, A Hewitt, I Marian, L Nevay, P Nicolson, M Slark, K Vadher, E Williamson, N Arden, K Barker, G Collins, J Fairbank, J Fitch, D French, F Griffiths, Z Hanson, C Hutchinson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2020-09-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e037516.full
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author Sarah E Lamb
Christian D Mallen
M Watson
Julie Bruce
S Dutton
S Petrou
Lesley Ward
Maria T Sanchez Santos
Esther Williamson
Angela Garrett
Alana Morris
O Conway
F Darton
D Hagan
D Haywood
A Hewitt
I Marian
L Nevay
P Nicolson
M Slark
K Vadher
E Williamson
N Arden
K Barker
G Collins
J Fairbank
J Fitch
D French
F Griffiths
Z Hanson
C Hutchinson
author_facet Sarah E Lamb
Christian D Mallen
M Watson
Julie Bruce
S Dutton
S Petrou
Lesley Ward
Maria T Sanchez Santos
Esther Williamson
Angela Garrett
Alana Morris
O Conway
F Darton
D Hagan
D Haywood
A Hewitt
I Marian
L Nevay
P Nicolson
M Slark
K Vadher
E Williamson
N Arden
K Barker
G Collins
J Fairbank
J Fitch
D French
F Griffiths
Z Hanson
C Hutchinson
collection DOAJ
description Purpose The ‘Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle’ (OPAL) Cohort is a longitudinal, prospective cohort study of adults, aged 65 years and older, living in the community which is investigating the determinants of health in later life. Our focus was on musculoskeletal pain and mobility, but the cohort is designed with flexibility to include new elements over time. This paper describes the study design, data collection and baseline characteristics of participants. We also compared the OPAL baseline characteristics with nationally representative data sources.Participants We randomly selected eligible participants from two stratified age bands (65–74 and 75 and over years). In total, 5409 individuals (42.1% of eligible participants) from 35 general practices in England agreed to participate between 2016 and 2018. The majority of participants (n=5367) also consented for research team to access their UK National Health Service (NHS) Digital and primary healthcare records.Findings to date Mean participant age was 74.9 years (range 65–100); 51.5% (n=2784/5409) were women. 94.9% of participants were white, and 28.8% lived alone. Over 83.0% reported pain in at least one body area in the previous 6 weeks. Musculoskeletal symptoms were more prevalent in women (86.4%). One-third of participants reported having one or more falls in the last year. Most participants were confident in their ability to walk outside. The characteristics of OPAL Cohort participants were broadly similar to the general population of the same age.Future plans Postal follow-up of the cohort is being undertaken at annual intervals, with data collection ongoing. Linkage to NHS hospital admission data is planned. This English prospective cohort offers a large and rich resource for research on the longitudinal associations between demographic, clinical, and social factors and health trajectories and outcomes in community-dwelling older people.
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spelling doaj-art-9191a9e3fca945d99c13c7cf40ba6df72025-01-08T06:30:13ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552020-09-0110910.1136/bmjopen-2020-037516Cohort profile: Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle (OPAL) Study, a prospective cohort study of older adults in England 0Sarah E Lamb1Christian D Mallen2M Watson3Julie Bruce4S DuttonS PetrouLesley Ward5Maria T Sanchez Santos6Esther Williamson7Angela Garrett8Alana Morris9O ConwayF DartonD HaganD HaywoodA HewittI MarianL NevayP NicolsonM SlarkK VadherE WilliamsonN Arden10K BarkerG CollinsJ FairbankJ FitchD FrenchF GriffithsZ HansonC HutchinsonGENYO, Pfizer-University, Granada, Spain, Granada, SpainKadoorie professor of trauma rehabilitation and co-director of Oxford clinical trials research unitPrimary Care Centre Versus Arthritis, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, UK2C-TRIC, Altnagelvin Hospital, UKprofessor of clinical trialsDepartment of Sport, Exercise & Rehabilitation, Northumbria University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UKCentre for Rehabilitation Research in Oxford, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKNuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology, and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UKNuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKNuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK2Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, OxfordPurpose The ‘Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle’ (OPAL) Cohort is a longitudinal, prospective cohort study of adults, aged 65 years and older, living in the community which is investigating the determinants of health in later life. Our focus was on musculoskeletal pain and mobility, but the cohort is designed with flexibility to include new elements over time. This paper describes the study design, data collection and baseline characteristics of participants. We also compared the OPAL baseline characteristics with nationally representative data sources.Participants We randomly selected eligible participants from two stratified age bands (65–74 and 75 and over years). In total, 5409 individuals (42.1% of eligible participants) from 35 general practices in England agreed to participate between 2016 and 2018. The majority of participants (n=5367) also consented for research team to access their UK National Health Service (NHS) Digital and primary healthcare records.Findings to date Mean participant age was 74.9 years (range 65–100); 51.5% (n=2784/5409) were women. 94.9% of participants were white, and 28.8% lived alone. Over 83.0% reported pain in at least one body area in the previous 6 weeks. Musculoskeletal symptoms were more prevalent in women (86.4%). One-third of participants reported having one or more falls in the last year. Most participants were confident in their ability to walk outside. The characteristics of OPAL Cohort participants were broadly similar to the general population of the same age.Future plans Postal follow-up of the cohort is being undertaken at annual intervals, with data collection ongoing. Linkage to NHS hospital admission data is planned. This English prospective cohort offers a large and rich resource for research on the longitudinal associations between demographic, clinical, and social factors and health trajectories and outcomes in community-dwelling older people.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e037516.full
spellingShingle Sarah E Lamb
Christian D Mallen
M Watson
Julie Bruce
S Dutton
S Petrou
Lesley Ward
Maria T Sanchez Santos
Esther Williamson
Angela Garrett
Alana Morris
O Conway
F Darton
D Hagan
D Haywood
A Hewitt
I Marian
L Nevay
P Nicolson
M Slark
K Vadher
E Williamson
N Arden
K Barker
G Collins
J Fairbank
J Fitch
D French
F Griffiths
Z Hanson
C Hutchinson
Cohort profile: Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle (OPAL) Study, a prospective cohort study of older adults in England
BMJ Open
title Cohort profile: Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle (OPAL) Study, a prospective cohort study of older adults in England
title_full Cohort profile: Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle (OPAL) Study, a prospective cohort study of older adults in England
title_fullStr Cohort profile: Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle (OPAL) Study, a prospective cohort study of older adults in England
title_full_unstemmed Cohort profile: Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle (OPAL) Study, a prospective cohort study of older adults in England
title_short Cohort profile: Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle (OPAL) Study, a prospective cohort study of older adults in England
title_sort cohort profile oxford pain activity and lifestyle opal study a prospective cohort study of older adults in england
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e037516.full
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