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Life course program encompasses two cohort studies

The aim of the Life Course Program is to relate life events beginning in the womb to later health and wellbeing.

By following people from birth across their life course we will help identify early those most at risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular, renal and mental ill-health. This information will help develop strategies to contribute to closing the current gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non–Indigenous Australians.

The Life Course Program provides valuable knowledge on the health and wellbeing of people living across the Top End.

The Aboriginal Birth Cohort Study (ABC) is recognised as the largest and longest running Indigenous birth cohort in Australia. As part of the Life Course Program at Menzies, the main aim of the study is to assess the effect of early life factors, birth and childhood, on later physical and mental health, and to examine which factors influence these across the life course.

The Top End Cohort (TEC) commenced recruitment in 2007 when non-Indigenous people born in Darwin between 1987-1991 were invited to be part of the Life Course Program.  Together with the age matched ABC study, it provides a unique resort to examine the health and wellbeing of young people in the Top End across their life span. 

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