During 2017 and 2018 we asked participants to complete our first follow-up questionnaire to find out how their mobile phone use, health and lifestyle had changed since they joined the COSMOS study.  The online follow-up questionnaire is now closed and we would like to thank everyone who filled it in.

As you may have noticed, the entire COSMOS website has now been revamped! The online home of the study now looks modern, sleek and new. We have also redesigned the site so it is easier to navigate, and information is easier to find. Finally, there is also brand new content across the site. Why not explore now and let us know what you think?

The team have produced a new paper reporting on the most important part of the study: Our participants. Published in November 2015, the paper explores the formation and make-up of the cohort in detail, including statistics on location, gender, ethnicity, obesity, health and well-being and mobile phone usage. The paper describes the study’s aims and research methods, including the scope of the data collected and the importance of data linkage to routine health registry records and network operator mobile phone use data.
For an in-depth look at the cohort, the paper is available here: ‘Cohort profile: ‘Cohort profile: UK COSMOS—a UK cohort for study of environment and health’

The first UK COSMOS paper was published in July 2015 and is now available to read online. Based on our own experiences of the UK COSMOS cohort, this paper sets out the do’s and don’ts for today's cohort studies and provides a guide on how best to take advantage of new technologies and innovative methods to simplify logistics and minimise costs.
If you’re interested in how the study was created, this paper is a must-read. Following the inception of the study, it explores some of the challenges faced in establishing a cohort from scratch, including how to balance the need to maximise recruitment in the setting of time and budgetary constraints.
This paper is available here: 'How to Establish and Follow up a Large Prospective Cohort study in the 21st Century - Lessons from UK’