@article{Fry2017,
title = {Comparison of Sociodemographic and Health-Related Characteristics of UK Biobank Participants with the General Population},
author = {Anna Fry and Thomas J Littlejohns and Cathie Sudlow and Nicola Doherty and Ligia Adamska and Tim Sprosen and Rory Collins and Naomi E Allen},
url = {https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/doi/10.1093/aje/kwx246/3883629/Comparison-of-Sociodemographic-and-Health-Related},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-06-21},
journal = {American Journal of Epidemiology},
abstract = {UK Biobank is a population-based cohort of 500,000 participants recruited between 2006 and 2010. Approximately 9.2 million individuals aged 40-69 years who lived within 25 miles of the 22 assessment centres in England, Wales and Scotland were invited, and 5.4% participated in the baseline assessment. The representativeness of the UK Biobank cohort was investigated by comparing demographic characteristics between non-responders and responders. Sociodemographic, physical, lifestyle and health-related characteristics of the cohort were compared with nationally representative data sources. UK Biobank participants were more likely to be older, women and to live in less socioeconomically deprived areas than non-participants. Compared with the general population, participants were less likely to be obese, smoke, drink alcohol on a daily basis and had fewer self-reported health outcomes. Rates of all-cause mortality and total cancer incidence (at age 70-74 years) were 46.2% and 11.8% lower in men, and 55.5% and 18.1% lower in women, respectively, than the general population of the same age. UK Biobank is not representative of the sampling population, with evidence of a ‘healthy volunteer’ selection bias. Nonetheless, the valid assessment of exposure-disease relationships may be widely generalizable and does not require participants to be representative of the population at large.},
keywords = {About UK Biobank, methodology},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@misc{Littlejohns2015,
title = {OP15 Characteristics of men who have had a prostate-specific antigen test: cross-sectional findings for 212,039 men from UK biobank},
author = {Key NE Allen J TJ Littlejohns RC Travis},
url = {http://jech.bmj.com/content/69/Suppl_1/A15.1.abstract},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-09-07},
abstract = {Background The incidence of prostate cancer has increased over the last 20 years, largely because of increased detection through prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing. However, PSA testing as a screening tool for prostate cancer remains controversial and is not currently recommended, despite its widespread use in primary care. Currently, there is limited information regarding the characteristics of UK men who have had a PSA test. Our aim was to explore the associations between a wide range of characteristics and PSA testing in a large cohort of UK-based men, with a particular focus on risk factors or suspected risk factors for prostate cancer.

Methods The sample featured 212,039 men free from prevalent prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia or prostatitis who participated in UK Biobank, a large population-based cohort study. Participants aged 40–69 years attended one of 22 assessment centres in England, Scotland or Wales between 2006–2010. The assessment comprised electronic signed consent, a touch-screen questionnaire, a brief computer-assisted interview, physical measures, and collection of blood, urine and saliva. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to investigate the association of a range of sociodemographic, lifestyle and health-related factors with PSA testing.
Results A total of 62,022 (29%) men had a PSA test, with older men more likely to have undergone testing (4.6% in <45 year olds vs. 47.4% in ≥65 year olds). Furthermore, testing was higher in those who were of black compared to white ethnic origin (odds ratio [OR] = 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17–1.42), those with higher compared to lower education (OR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.24–1.31), and those with private healthcare (OR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.71–1.85). Additionally, men who had a family history of prostate cancer, lived with a wife or partner, or had been diagnosed with (non-prostate) cancer or hypertension were more likely to have undergone PSA testing. Conversely, men who lived in more socioeconomically deprived areas, were of Asian ethnic origin, were current smokers, had a lower alcohol intake, had a higher BMI or who had been diagnosed with diabetes, heart disease or stroke were less likely to have had a PSA test.

Conclusion This is the first large-scale population-based study to show the associations between a wide range of lifestyle and health characteristics and the likelihood of having had a PSA test in the UK. Several previously identified risk factors for prostate cancer displayed similar associations with PSA testing, suggesting that the associations with prostate cancer may partly be due to detection bias.},
keywords = {About UK Biobank, prostate cancer},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {presentation}
}

@article{Thompson2015,
title = {UK Biobank comes of age},
author = {Simon G Thompson and Peter Willeit},
url = {http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2815%2960578-5/fulltext},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-06-03},
journal = {The Lancet},
abstract = {UK Biobank is the most ambitious national initiative aiming to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. The baseline information obtained between 2006 and 2010 from 500 000 adults encompasses a vast range of characteristics, including sociodemographic information, physical measures, health and lifestyle factors, medical history, and blood measurements.1 The participants have been followed up for mortality for an average of 5 years. The wealth of data from UK Biobank is available to researchers worldwide, after an approved application.},
keywords = {About UK Biobank},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}