Whitehall II History
The first Whitehall
study, set up in 1967, included 18,000 men in the British
Civil Service. It
showed that men in the lowest employment grades were much more likely to die
prematurely than men in the highest grades. Furthermore, these socio-economic
inequalities in health did not appear to be fully accounted for by differences
in well-known risk factors, such as smoking. In 1985 the Whitehall II study was
set up to determine other factors that might contribute to this social gradient
in death and disease, and to include women.
The baseline survey of the Whitehall II study, 1985-1988, saw the recruitment of 10,308 non-industrial civil servants from the London-based offices of 20 Civil Service departments. Aged 35-55, approximately one third were women. The baseline survey (Phase 1) involved a medical examination and a self-completion questionnaire. Since baseline, there have been ten phases of data collection of which every odd-numbered phase has included a medical examination in addition to a questionnaire. Further information about the Whitehall II study is available on 'Cohort Profile: the Whitehall II Study'.
When the Whitehall II study started in 1985 its main aims were to
put social class differences in health on the map and investigate the causes of
social inequalities in disease during the working life. This has been achieved
with outstanding success. In addition to the contribution of unhealthy
behaviours and traditional risk factors, such as blood pressure, the Whitehall
II study has shown the importance of psychosocial factors such as work stress,
unfairness, and work-family conflict to socio-economic inequalities in heart
disease and diabetes. The "Work, Stress and Health" booklet provides a summary of the
key findings from this stage of the study for the lay reader.
In addition to this research on social determinants, the data have been used to build one of the most detailed pictures of the determinants of health in mid-life. To date over 500 research papers have been published based on data collected as part of the Whitehall II study. See list of these publications.
In 2008 the study instigated a formal process through which researchers external to the Whitehall II team could have access to the data collected by the study (see Data Sharing). To date, it has been very successful and the Whitehall II policy and data dictionaries have been adopted by the MRC Data Support Service as a model of good practice.
Findings from Whitehall II have stimulated research and sister studies in many countries and contribute to policy making in Britain and globally. Professor Sir Michael Marmot lead the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, launched by the Prime Minister in November 2008. Subsequent to this project, Professor Marmot was invited by the Secretary of State for Health to undertake a national review of the evidence. The Marmot Review 'Fair Society, Healthy Lives', published in February 2010, laid out the most effective strategies for reducing health inequalities in England. The new UCL Institute of Health Equity will build on this work to tackle inequalities in health through action on the social determinants of health. Professor Marmot and his IHE team organise and attend many presentations and conferences. Here you can find details of these events and press coverage.
On the 1st November 2011, Professor Marmot examined on BBC Radio 4 the link between status and health, revealing what inspires and motivates his work.
Page last modified on 20 mar 12 11:45
