Prospective study design and data analysis in UK Biobank.
Naomi E AllenBenjamin LaceyDeborah A LawlorJill P PellJohn E J GallacherLiam SmeethPaul ElliottPaul M MatthewsRonan A LyonsAnthony D WhettonAnneke M LucassenMatthew E HurlesMichael ChapmanAndrew W RoddamNatalie K FitzpatrickAnna L HansellRebecca J HardyRiccardo E MarioniValerie B O'DonnellJulie WilliamsCecilia M LindgrenMark EffinghamJonathan SellorsJohn DaneshRory CollinsPublished in: Science translational medicine (2024)
Population-based prospective studies, such as UK Biobank, are valuable for generating and testing hypotheses about the potential causes of human disease. We describe how UK Biobank's study design, data access policies, and approaches to statistical analysis can help to minimize error and improve the interpretability of research findings, with implications for other population-based prospective studies being established worldwide.