Baby boomer database adds genetic data

BETHESDA, Md., March 27 (UPI) -- The Health and Retirement Study, the premier database for studying retirement and U.S. baby boomers, has added genetic information, officials said.

The study, a 20-year nationwide survey of the health, economic and social status of older Americans, added genetic information from about 13,000 consenting participants.

The data are comprised of about 2.5 million genetic markers from each person and are immediately available for analysis by qualified researchers.

Data were obtained from saliva samples collected from Health and Retirement Study participants since 2006.

"The addition of genetic data provides a major new dimension for the study and is expected to result in much deeper insights into how we age," Dr. Richard J. Hodes, director of the National Institutes of Aging, said in a statement.

"With detailed information on genetic background, combined with the wealth of data on important aspects of the lives of older people, researchers will be better able to describe the spectrum of behavioral and environmental risk factors for disease and disability as well as those that may protect our health."