Cohort profile: The North East London Diabetes Study (NELDS)

Abraham Olvera-Barrios; Alasdair N. Warwick; Matilda Pitt; Zeinab Schaefer; Schanhave Santhirasekaran; Ryan Chambers; Louis Bolter; John Anderson; Jiri Fajtl; Sarah Barman; Reecha Sofat; Aroon Hingorani; Catherine Egan; Adnan Tufail; Alicja R. Rudnicka; Christopher G. Owen; the ARIAS Research Group

doi:10.1093/ije/dyag117

Cohort profile: The North East London Diabetes Study (NELDS)

Abraham Olvera-Barrios
, Alasdair N. Warwick
, Matilda Pitt
, Zeinab Schaefer
, Schanhave Santhirasekaran
, Ryan Chambers
, Louis Bolter
, John Anderson
, Jiri Fajtl
, Sarah Barman
, Reecha Sofat
, Aroon Hingorani
, Catherine Egan
, Adnan Tufail
, Alicja R. Rudnicka
, Christopher G. Owen
, the ARIAS Research Group

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
University College London
City St George's, University of London
Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
University of Liverpool

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The North East London Diabetes Study (NELDS) was established to investigate the epidemiology of diabetes-related outcomes and to support the development of equitable predictive models.

Based in North East London, England, the NELDS includes people with diabetes (92% type 2) registered with the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (DESP) between January 2012 and December 2021. The cohort comprises 178 536 individuals aged ≥12 years at baseline (median age 57 years; interquartile range 47–68). Ethnic diversity is substantial, with 36% White, 34% South Asian, and 16% Black participants. By December 2021, 15% had died and 9.8% had moved out of the area.

The DESP dataset includes 5.5 million colour fundus photographs, standardized diabetic retinopathy grading, and socio-demographic information spanning 1 074 985 person-years of follow-up. These data are linked to primary and secondary care electronic health records (EHRs) containing clinical measurements, medication records, and comorbidity information. Prospective data collection is ongoing.

The scale, diversity, and unique integration of longitudinal ophthalmic imaging with linked EHR data of the NELDS make it well suited for developing accurate, equitable predictive models to inform personalized care and improve the prevention of diabetes complications.

Original language	English
Article number	dyag117
Journal	International Journal of Epidemiology
Volume	55
Issue number	4
Early online date	5 Aug 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyag117
Publication status	Published - Aug 2026

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10.1093/ije/dyag117Licence: CC BY

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Olvera-Barrios, A., Warwick, A. N., Pitt, M., Schaefer, Z., Santhirasekaran, S., Chambers, R., Bolter, L., Anderson, J., Fajtl, J., Barman, S., Sofat, R., Hingorani, A., Egan, C., Tufail, A., Rudnicka, A. R., Owen, C. G., & the ARIAS Research Group (2026). Cohort profile: The North East London Diabetes Study (NELDS). International Journal of Epidemiology, 55(4), Article dyag117. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyag117

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title = "Cohort profile: The North East London Diabetes Study (NELDS)",

abstract = "The North East London Diabetes Study (NELDS) was established to investigate the epidemiology of diabetes-related outcomes and to support the development of equitable predictive models. Based in North East London, England, the NELDS includes people with diabetes (92\% type 2) registered with the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (DESP) between January 2012 and December 2021. The cohort comprises 178 536 individuals aged ≥12 years at baseline (median age 57 years; interquartile range 47{\textendash}68). Ethnic diversity is substantial, with 36\% White, 34\% South Asian, and 16\% Black participants. By December 2021, 15\% had died and 9.8\% had moved out of the area. The DESP dataset includes 5.5 million colour fundus photographs, standardized diabetic retinopathy grading, and socio-demographic information spanning 1 074 985 person-years of follow-up. These data are linked to primary and secondary care electronic health records (EHRs) containing clinical measurements, medication records, and comorbidity information. Prospective data collection is ongoing. The scale, diversity, and unique integration of longitudinal ophthalmic imaging with linked EHR data of the NELDS make it well suited for developing accurate, equitable predictive models to inform personalized care and improve the prevention of diabetes complications.",

author = "Abraham Olvera-Barrios and Warwick, \{Alasdair N.\} and Matilda Pitt and Zeinab Schaefer and Schanhave Santhirasekaran and Ryan Chambers and Louis Bolter and John Anderson and Jiri Fajtl and Sarah Barman and Reecha Sofat and Aroon Hingorani and Catherine Egan and Adnan Tufail and Rudnicka, \{Alicja R.\} and Owen, \{Christopher G.\} and \{the ARIAS Research Group\}",

year = "2026",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1093/ije/dyag117",

language = "English",

volume = "55",

journal = "International Journal of Epidemiology",

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publisher = "Oxford University Press",

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Olvera-Barrios, A, Warwick, AN, Pitt, M, Schaefer, Z, Santhirasekaran, S, Chambers, R, Bolter, L, Anderson, J, Fajtl, J, Barman, S, Sofat, R, Hingorani, A, Egan, C, Tufail, A, Rudnicka, AR, Owen, CG & the ARIAS Research Group 2026, 'Cohort profile: The North East London Diabetes Study (NELDS)', International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 55, no. 4, dyag117. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyag117

TY - JOUR

T1 - Cohort profile

T2 - The North East London Diabetes Study (NELDS)

AU - Olvera-Barrios, Abraham

AU - Warwick, Alasdair N.

AU - Pitt, Matilda

AU - Schaefer, Zeinab

AU - Santhirasekaran, Schanhave

AU - Chambers, Ryan

AU - Bolter, Louis

AU - Anderson, John

AU - Fajtl, Jiri

AU - Barman, Sarah

AU - Sofat, Reecha

AU - Hingorani, Aroon

AU - Egan, Catherine

AU - Tufail, Adnan

AU - Rudnicka, Alicja R.

AU - Owen, Christopher G.

AU - the ARIAS Research Group

PY - 2026/8

Y1 - 2026/8

N2 - The North East London Diabetes Study (NELDS) was established to investigate the epidemiology of diabetes-related outcomes and to support the development of equitable predictive models. Based in North East London, England, the NELDS includes people with diabetes (92% type 2) registered with the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (DESP) between January 2012 and December 2021. The cohort comprises 178 536 individuals aged ≥12 years at baseline (median age 57 years; interquartile range 47–68). Ethnic diversity is substantial, with 36% White, 34% South Asian, and 16% Black participants. By December 2021, 15% had died and 9.8% had moved out of the area. The DESP dataset includes 5.5 million colour fundus photographs, standardized diabetic retinopathy grading, and socio-demographic information spanning 1 074 985 person-years of follow-up. These data are linked to primary and secondary care electronic health records (EHRs) containing clinical measurements, medication records, and comorbidity information. Prospective data collection is ongoing. The scale, diversity, and unique integration of longitudinal ophthalmic imaging with linked EHR data of the NELDS make it well suited for developing accurate, equitable predictive models to inform personalized care and improve the prevention of diabetes complications.

AB - The North East London Diabetes Study (NELDS) was established to investigate the epidemiology of diabetes-related outcomes and to support the development of equitable predictive models. Based in North East London, England, the NELDS includes people with diabetes (92% type 2) registered with the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (DESP) between January 2012 and December 2021. The cohort comprises 178 536 individuals aged ≥12 years at baseline (median age 57 years; interquartile range 47–68). Ethnic diversity is substantial, with 36% White, 34% South Asian, and 16% Black participants. By December 2021, 15% had died and 9.8% had moved out of the area. The DESP dataset includes 5.5 million colour fundus photographs, standardized diabetic retinopathy grading, and socio-demographic information spanning 1 074 985 person-years of follow-up. These data are linked to primary and secondary care electronic health records (EHRs) containing clinical measurements, medication records, and comorbidity information. Prospective data collection is ongoing. The scale, diversity, and unique integration of longitudinal ophthalmic imaging with linked EHR data of the NELDS make it well suited for developing accurate, equitable predictive models to inform personalized care and improve the prevention of diabetes complications.

U2 - 10.1093/ije/dyag117

DO - 10.1093/ije/dyag117

M3 - Article

C2 - 42555871

AN - SCOPUS:105046466457

SN - 0300-5771

VL - 55

JO - International Journal of Epidemiology

JF - International Journal of Epidemiology

IS - 4

M1 - dyag117

ER -

Cohort profile: The North East London Diabetes Study (NELDS)

Abstract

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