Integrative Pathways to Health and Illness

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application is a competing continuation of the MIDUS (Midlife in the U.S.) national study, launched in 1995/96 with 7,108 Americans (aged 25-74) to investigate the Influence of sociodemographic, psychosocial, and behavioral factors on health and well-being from early adulthood to later life. The prior P01, known as MIDUS II (2002-2008) obtained longitudinal assessments 9-10 years later In all baseline domains and added new content (cognitive assessments, biomarkers, neuroscience assessments) to the study. The central aims of this P0l are twofold. First, we seek to refresh (augment) MIDUS sample with 2,100 new respondents (aged 25-54) recruited from a national probability sample and 500 new African Americans (aged 25-54) recruited from Milwaukee, Wl. Data collection will parallel the five Project design employed at MIDUS II, thereby encompassing the same array of survey (Project 1), daily diary (Project 2), cognitive (Project 3), biological (Project 4), and neuroscience (Project 5) assessments obtained on subsamples of respondents. We will utilize the newly collected Refresher data to: (a) investigate health effects of the economic recession in young and midlife adults by comparing the post-recession Refresher sample with the pre-recession MIDUS samples, and (b) augment the sample sizes needed for cross-Project analyses intended to advance the biopsychosocial integration that motivates MIDUS. The second primary aim, to be carried out in the latter half of the P0l, is to initiate the 3rd wave of data collection on the existing sample (MIDUS III). Adhering to the 9-10 year follow-up interval, we will collect survey and cognitive assessments in this application. Separate funds will be sought to carry out longitudinal follow-up of daily stress, biomarker, and neuroscience assessments, which ideally will begin when this P01 ends, thereby allowing us to maintain the same temporal sequence of data collection followed at MIDUS II. Three scientific cores (Administration, Biology, and Statistics) support the research of the P0l. Our proposed competing continuation will build on the success of our prior P0l, measured in terms of the quality and scope of the data we have collected as well as the scientific productivity generated from it. Examples of the latter are detailed throughout the applications that follow. Finally, we underscore the fact that MIDUS has become an outstanding resource for the scientific community. To date, 315 publications have been generated from MIDUS, with 104 contributed by public users of the data. Taken as a whole, MIDUS has become a flourishing forum for multidisciplinary research on mid- and later- life health.