The world’s most detailed study of human health and development is set to enter its next stage.

The lives of 1037 babies born at Queen Mary Maternity Hospital between April 1, 1972 and March 31, 1973 have been assessed regularly over half a century as part of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study.

The most recent assessment was at age 45, which saw 94 per cent of all living unnamed members of the study participate - making it the highest follow-up rate for a study of this design and duration in the world.

Hundreds of those members will be returning to Dunedin, some from around the world, to participate in the study’s next phase from April 8.

Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study Director, Research Professor Moana Theodore.

The assessments will take about two years to complete, with study members undergoing a range of physical tests including a dental examination, vision, hearing and respiratory tests, and answering questions about their lives.

They will also attend a brain MRI scan on a second day.

Study Director, Research Professor Moana Theodore, said she was incredibly excited to start this phase of the study, as midlife had previously been an understudied period when it came to understanding health and wellbeing.

“Not only is it a time of change – people’s children may be leaving home and their parents are getting older – but it’s also when significant health issues can arise,” Theodore said.

“Chronic conditions emerge at earlier ages for some of our communities who have less access to services and experience inequities in health. The best way to study inequities is to identify lifecourse pathways that create them to inform programmes that address inequities now and for future generations.”

By adding the new to the existing information collected from study participants in their 30s and 40s, researchers will be in a unique position to deepen their understanding of the aging process.

Dunedin Study team members demonstrate the tests that Study members will undergo. Photo / Supplied

“Why that’s so important is because we have an ageing population. Some of our most pressing healthcare, social, and economic issues relate to how we best support and care for people as they age,” said Theodore.

Theodore said what set the study apart from other longitudinal studies was its high retention rate with its members coming from all walks of life, giving researchers the ability to look at a wide range of human experiences.

“The fact that we have this world-leading study right here in Aotearoa New Zealand is something that we should all be incredibly proud of. But it is only possible due to the generosity of each and every one of our Study members and their families,” she said.

n recognition of their contribution to the study, the members each anonymously received a Civic Award from the City of Dunedin in 2010, as well as a copy of the Study’s 2016 Prime Minister’s Science Prize certificate.

The Study itself was also awarded the Rutherford Medal in 2022.

As the last time the Study members were seen was before the Covid-19 pandemic, the study is in a unique position to examine how people’s lives have changed since then.

It is also increasing its focus on how the environment impacts health, with new technologies will looking at Study members’ exposure to chemical toxins like pesticides, air pollution, and heavy metals.

Theodore is the only the third director of the study in its 51 years after being named director in October 2023 following the untimely passing of former director Emeritus Distinguished Professor Richie Poulton.

She is also the first director who is Generation X, the same age as the Study members.

Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study Associate Director Professor Terrie Moffit. Photo / Supplied

“Like many New Zealand students and researchers, I have been fortunate to learn and train at the Study. Richie was a long-time mentor of mine. He knew that the data that we collect would become more and more valuable and helpful over time - that the best years of the Study were still to come.

“I work alongside a team of staff who will ensure we build upon the Study’s legacy. A team that is absolutely committed to the Study and the Study members and working alongside internationally renowned researchers across such a broad range of multidisciplinary areas.”

One of those leading researchers is the Study’s Associate Director Professor Terrie Moffitt, who is based at Duke University in North Carolina.

Moffitt said the Study has had a significant impact internationally, and is well-regarded as a trusted source of health information overseas with its findings published in top international medical journals.

“Most studies just stay on the surface, they send out postal questionnaires, or collect saliva through the post, or collect data over the internet. But each and every Dunedin Study member spends a whole day in person, at the Unit, being assessed in depth,” she said.

Ben Tomsett is a Multimedia Journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.