This is a proposal to update the data set from the first Duke Longitudinal Study of Aging so as to make it conveniently accessible in contemporary format to scientific research investigators. The Center has the technical expertise and facilities to do this. The key investigators initially responsible for the various substantive areas (biomedical, behavioral, social) are available for consultation and supervision. The high cost of high-quality, multidisciplinary, longitudinal studies of human development and aging provides a special incentive to insure that the data from such research is publicly available, properly documented, and accessible to the broadest possible number of research investigators. The development and dissemination of high quality data sets for secondary analysis is a recognized national priority which is supported by NIA because such data sets relevant for research in aging are relatively scarce. Between 1955 and 1980 NICHD and NIA supported two multidisciplinary studies of aging at the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. The second of these studies, begun in 1968, covering only 6 years and developed recently enough to benefit from advanced computing technology--could be formatted and documented easily. This data set is in the public domain. The first study--begun in 1955 and covering two decades and eleven observations--necessarily utilized data formatting procedures which, while initially current, are not adequate for easy adaptation to comtemporary data analysis technology. The cost of translating these useful data into a contemporary format for economical use is considerable lower in terms of time and money than would be the case if a large number of investigators undertook the task independently. Experience indicates a demand for the data set.
