Understanding artery health and ageing – part of the Whitehall II study

Vascular Risk and Functional Decline in Old Age: From Discovery to Translation

In 1985 a major research study was launched, with the ambition of investigating the causes of social inequalities in health. The study, called Whitehall II, recruited 10,308 London civil servants aged 35- 55 and has followed them up with regular health checks and questionnaires. The BHF has funded aspects of the Whitehall II study for more than two decades. Professor Brunner’s research has measured the health of the body’s main artery – the aorta – in thousands of Whitehall participants. With this data the team has shown that this measurement is a good indicator of how well a person is ageing, as those with a rigid (unhealthy) aorta are more likely to have physical and cognitive impairments in old age. This grant will fund the continued investigation of the causes of the different rates of decline in ageing. Using the vast bank of data now available from Whitehall II, the team will predict future rates of disease in the UK, and assess how national health policies could impact this. They will also continue to assess if testing aortic stiffness could be a more accurate way for doctors to predict people’s risk of poor health in the future.