ELSA 50+ Memory and Thinking

How does our memory and thinking change as we get older? This study is a special addition to ELSA 50+ Health and Life, looking at what happens to our memory as we age.

Essential Information

There are two parts to the ELSA 50+ Memory and Thinking study:

• We've randomly selected some people who have taken part in ELSA 50+ Health and Life to answer some questions about memory and thinking.
• If you've been invited to take part in this study, we'll also ask you to nominate a family member or friend to complete a short questionnaire about any changes they've noticed in your memory and thinking.  

Why take part?

By taking part you may help to solve some of the issues we have with memory and thinking as we grow older.

The study is part of a bigger study happening around the world and will allow researchers to compare results across countries to look at the influences on memory and thinking as we get older.

A token of our appreciation

If you are an ELSA 50+ participant, we will give you a £20 gift card as a thank you for taking part in your interview. 

If you were nominated to take part as a family member or friend, we will give you a £5 gift card. 

What's involved for ELSA 50+ participants  

One of our interviewers will telephone or visit you. So that you know who they are, all of our interviewers carry photo ID with our logo on it. We understand you may be busy, so we’ll organise the interview at a time that suits you.

The interviewer will ask you a range of questions about memory and thinking. You don’t have to answer any questions you don’t want to; we can just skip on to the next one.

The interviewer will also ask you to nominate someone who knows you well, most likely a family member or friend.

We will contact this person to complete a short questionnaire about your daily activities and your memory.

What's involved for family members or friends 

If you have not already filled in a paper questionnaire, we will post one to you.

No need to prepare

There’s no need to prepare for the interview. You don’t need any special knowledge; we just want to hear about your daily life. Most people agree to be interviewed and enjoy taking part.

Should I be worried about my memory?

You have been selected entirely at random to take part in this study. Being selected does not mean that we think you have a greater chance than anyone else of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

How do you protect my information?

We will treat the information you give us in the strictest confidence under the Data Protection Act 2018. Click here to find out more about how we protect your information.