Data Access / Conditions of Use / Citation Requirements / User Registration
I - Overview
Thank you for your interest in downloading ELSI-Brazil’s public release data files. Once you have registered as a user, public release data files may be downloaded to your computer from our private server.
Our aim is to provide ELSI data files free of charge through a data release policy that gives quick and easy access to registered users. Cross-sectional data from the first and the second waves of the study are available on our homepage.
It is important to note that ELSI-Brazil does not have a research team to provide help with data analysis and interpretation. All required information for any data analysis is properly documented here and in other documentation available on this homepage.
The following are some recommendations that may be helpful before moving on to the data downloading process.
II - Suggested reading before downloading the data files
The following two cohort profile publications provide valuable and detailed information on ELSI-Brazil:
III - Questionnaires and protocols
The documentation regarding the household interview, individual interview and physical measurements protocols used in the first and second waves of the ELSI-Brazil surveys are fully described on this homepage, both in Portuguese and in English. We strongly recommend reading the documentation mentioned before choosing the variables to be used in your analysis.
IV - Citations to be included in any research reports, papers, or publications based on ELSI-Brazil data
(IV.1) Title - We would like to ask for the inclusion of ELSI-Brasil (in Portuguese) or ELSI-Brazil (in English) in the title of all manuscripts using the research data. This would increase the visibility of this project which has been so productive. We understand that some journals are strict in relation to the number of words in the title. Nevertheless, we suggest that some effort should be made to include the name of the study in the title, although it is not mandatory.
(IV.2) Ethics - It is mandatory to include ELSI’s ethical approval statement. It should be mentioned in all manuscripts as follows: “ELSI-Brazil was approved by the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ) ethics committee, Minas Gerais, Brazil (protocol number 34649814.3.0000.5091). Its corresponding version in Portuguese is: “O ELSI-Brasil foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Minas Gerais, Brasil (CAAE: 34649814.3.0000.5091)”.
(IV.3) Funding - It is mandatory to mention the funding source. One of the options below must be included in the appropriate section of the manuscript:
(IV.4) Citation - We strongly suggest that you cite in the reference list of your manuscript using ELSI-Brazil data at least one of the two cohort profiles describing the methodological aspects of the study: Lima-Costa MF et al. Am J Epidemiol. 2018 Jul 1;187(7):1345-1353 doi: 10.1093/aje/kwx387 and/or Lima-Costa MF et al. Int J Epidemiol. 2023 Feb 8;52(1):e57-e65. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyac132.
(IV.5) Notification of publication - Please notify us of any publication (research paper, book, and book chapter) based on ELSI-Brazil data by email to elsi@fiocruz.br. All publications will be included on the ELSI-Brazil webpage in the publication list section.
V - Data format
The data files are available in two formats: Stata (version 13) and text files with values separated by commas (extension ‘.csv’). In Stata, all variable labels are described. The second format i.e. text files does not allow label specification. However, this problem can be solved by using the variable names i.e. their respective labels can be easily identified in both household and individual questionnaires, which are available on this study’s homepage.
ELSI-Brazil has a complex sample design. Therefore, analyses should account for weighting (variable = peso_calibrado or calibrated_weight) and sampling design based on the following variables: primary sampling unity (variable = upa or psu) and geographic stratification and clustering (variable = estrato or stratum). Stata users should use the following command to account for weighting and sampling design:
Using database in Portuguese: svyset upa, strata(estrato) weight(peso_calibrado) vce(linearized) singleunit(centered)
Using database in English: svyset psu, strata(stratum) weight(calibrated_weight) vce(linearized) singleunit(centered)
For all variables in the database, except when specified otherwise in the questionnaires, the categories with the following codes/values: 8/88/888/8888/88888 and so on, refer to “Not Applicable (NA)” and 9/99/999/9999/99999 and so on, refer to “Missing values”.
VI - Information about the financial variables
To facilitate the use of financial variables, we have constructed a series of these variables, which are made up of several variables from the household questionnaire. A brief description of the components of these variables can be found in the table below. These variables are available both in the Portuguese and English versions of the database.
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a Variables b6 - b4 + b8 + b37 b Sum of all variables of module D, except d28, d29, and d30 c Sum of all variables of module D, except d28, d29, and d30 divided by the number of residents in the household |
VII - Comparisons between waves
As a rule, the ELSI-Brazil questions remain the same throughout the waves. However, on a few occasions, some questions are asked in alternate waves or were modified to be harmonized with the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) family of aging studies. For example, at baseline, the questions on the difficulties in performing basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADLs and IADLs) had four possible answers (have no difficulty; have little difficulty; have great difficulty; unable to perform the activity without help). During wave 2, there were only two possible answers for these questions (yes; no) similar to most of the HRS studies. The ELSI research team is investigating further to better understand the impact of such changes on the prevalence of these variables. Furthermore, comparisons of monetary values between waves must consider the Brazilian inflation in the period. We strongly recommend that interested researchers check the questions in the respective questionnaires before choosing the variables for their studies.
VIII - Data access
To access the data files, you need to register using the “Registration” link below. Then fill in all the required registration information. The username will be your email address. After filling out the form, click “Register”. You will receive an email confirming your registration. After approval of the registration with the research proposal by the ELSI-Brasil team, you should enter the "Login" menu. Once logged in, you should enter the "Databases" menu to access the files. Save the file(s) on your computer. To exit, click on "Sign out" in the "Login" menu.
Users are not allowed to make the data available to others and/or enable any third-party access to the data files. Access to the ELSI-Brazil data is only granted on an individual basis. This means that each person from a specific scientific project using ELSI-Brazil data must register and download the data individually.
In the event of a breach of the present conditions of use, our team has the right to withdraw the right of use of the ELSI-Brazil data (including canceling the user's access to the data file(s) and request them to delete all copies of the data immediately.