Accessing the health and biomarkers data

Most of Understanding Society’s health data can be accessed via the UK Data Service, please see the different options below.

Data available from the UK Data Service

End User Licence survey data (for mainstage, nurse visit and Innovation Panel) are available to download directly from the UK Data Service.

• SN: 6614 Understanding Society (main survey)
• SN: 7251 Understanding Society: Waves 2-3 Nurse Health Assessment, 2010-2012
• SN: 6849 Understanding Society: Innovation Panel*

*The Innovation Panel also offers health data, please read the User Guide for more information 

Data are available to all bona fide researchers, who can demonstrate public interest. For full information on our approach to data access, please see the Understanding Society Data Access Strategy. Information on the main Understanding Society data files is available in our User Guide.

Special Licence versions of these data are available, which include variable excluded from the EUL version. Researchers wishing to use Special Licence data will need to complete a form stating their research objectives and clearly explain why Special Licence data are needed for the project. Access to the dataset is given when the application has been approved. Polygenic scores are included in the Special Licence version of the Nurse Health Assessment dataset.

• SN: 6931 Understanding Society Special Licence
• SN: 7587 Understanding Society: Waves 2-3 Nurse Health Assessment, 2010-12 Special Licence

In addition to these biomarkers, we also collected omics (genetic and epigenetic) data, please see the omics web area for more information.  

More information

• Download the Biomarker User Guide and Glossary
• Listen to Biomarkers and genetic data podcast
• Watch Understanding Society Director, Professor Michaela Benzeval, talk about integrating biological and social data for research and how to use biological data in social science research.