The Collection of Biomarkers in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe Findings and Perspectives

A large variety of information of respondents' physical and mental health has been collected within the context of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) from its first wave in 2004 on. Despite their undisputable value, self-reported and subjective health indicators turned out not to be unproblematic in international comparative analyses. The collection of biometric data contributes to remedying such problems. This research paper presents analyses with measures of isometric grip-strength - one of the biometric measures already available in SHARE to date. Further, the authors discuss the inclusion of other biometric measures (especially via blood samples) into the investigational program of the longitudinally designed SHARE. Relevant sociological problems and questions (e.g. the importance of biomarkers for analyses of the correlation between socio-economic status and health) as well as experiences with biometric data in studies comparable to SHARE (especially from Anglo-Saxon countries) are described.