---
title: "Health and Retirement Study (HRS)"
id: "3350"
type: "cohort"
slug: "health-and-retirement-study-hrs"
published_at: "2022-01-26T19:04:17+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-09-24T21:12:34+00:00"
url: "https://dss.niagads.org/cohorts/health-and-retirement-study-hrs/"
markdown_url: "https://dss.niagads.org/cohorts/health-and-retirement-study-hrs.md"
excerpt: "The HRS is a nationally representative sample with oversamples of African-American and Hispanic populations. The target population for the original HRS cohort includes all adults in the contiguous United States born during the years 1931–1941 who reside in households. HRS..."
taxonomy_cohort_countries:
  - "United States of America"
---

Website:

[https://hrs.isr.umich.edu](https://hrs.isr.umich.edu)

## Description

The HRS is a nationally representative sample with oversamples of African-American and Hispanic populations. The target population for the original HRS cohort includes all adults in the contiguous United States born during the years 1931–1941 who reside in households. HRS was subsequently augmented with additional cohorts in 1993 and 1998 to represent the entire population 51 and older in 1998 (b. 1947 and earlier). Since then, the steady-state design calls for refreshment every six years with a new six-year birth cohort of 51–56 year olds. This was done in 2004 with the Early Baby Boomers (EBB) (b. 1948-53) and in 2010 with the Mid Boomers (MBB) (b. 1954–59).

This data release includes respondents who consented to the saliva collection in 2006 (‘Phase 1’), 2008 (‘Phase 2’), 2010 (‘Phase 3’), and 2012 (‘Phase 4’). Thus, Phases 1 and 2 include samples from HRS panel respondents (largely b. < 1954) while Phases 3 and 4 include samples from the MBB cohort, an additional minority oversample enrolled in HRS in 2010, and panel non-responders/consenters from 2006 and 2008.

See: [https://hrs.isr.umich.edu/documentation/survey-design](https://hrs.isr.umich.edu/documentation/survey-design)

## Related Datasets

- [NG00119 – Health and Retirement Study Genotype Data 2006-2012](https://dss.niagads.org/datasets/ng00119/) These data include a total of 18,916 subjects from the Health and Retirement Study genotyped on Illumina HumanOmni2.5-arrays. Data files also include imputed data using the 1000 Genomes and the… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/datasets/ng00119/)
- [NG00132 – Health and Retirement Study (HRS) APOE and Serotonin Transporter Alleles](https://dss.niagads.org/datasets/ng00132/) The APOE and Serotonin Transporter Alleles data product includes data for the APOE isoform, directly genotyped using a TaqMan allelic discrimination SNP assay, where available, or imputed from preexisting genotype… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/datasets/ng00132/)
- [NG00153 – Health and Retirement Study (HRS) DNA Methylation](https://dss.niagads.org/datasets/ng00153/) DNA methylation assays were conducted on a non-random subsample (n=4,104) of participants who participated in the 2016 Venous Blood Study. The sample includes all the participants of the 2016 Healthy… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/datasets/ng00153/)

## Related Studies

- [sa000021 - Health and Retirement Study (HRS)](https://dss.niagads.org/studies/sa000021/) Since 1992, the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, a cooperative agreement between the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the University of Michigan, NIA U01AG009740) has been the largest, representative… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/studies/sa000021/)

## Related Sample Sets

- [snd10027 - HRS – All Phases](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10027/) These data include a total of 18,916 subjects from the Health and Retirement Study genotyped on Illumina HumanOmni2.5-arrays. Data files also include imputed data using the 1000 Genomes and the… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10027/)
- [snd10028 - HRS – Phase4](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10028/) These data include 3,303 subjects from the Health and Retirement Study genotyped on Illumina HumanOmni2.5-arrays as part of Phase 4. Respondents who consented to the saliva collection in 2012 (Phase… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10028/)
- [snd10040 - HRS – APOE and Serotonin Transporter Alleles](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10040/) Since 1992, the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, a cooperative agreement between the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the University of Michigan, NIA U01AG009740) has been the largest, representative… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10040/)
- [snd10055 - Health and Retirement Study (HRS) DNA Methylation](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10055/) Since 1992, the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, a cooperative agreement between the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the University of Michigan, NIA U01AG009740) has been the largest, representative… [Learn more](https://dss.niagads.org/sample-sets/snd10055/)

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