Adali, Tugba;
Brown, Matt;
Gaia, Alessandra;
Henderson, Morag;
Peycheva, Darina;
(2025)
Collecting saliva samples for DNA genotyping in a large-scale cohort study of young adults in England.
(CLS Working Paper
2025/1).
UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies: London, UK.
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Abstract
The collection of saliva samples in large scale social surveys is increasingly popular due to the possibility of obtaining DNA information to unlock research opportunities, and for their ease of administration in self-completion settings, in absence of trained nurses or interviewers. However, a number of methodological challenges in the collection of saliva samples remain unsolved. We analyse data from a cohort study of young adults in England: the Next Steps Age 32 survey to explore these methodological challenges. Approximately 57% of eligible cohort members consented to provide a saliva sample and 27% returned a sample to the laboratory, resulting in data for 24.7% of respondents being genotyped. Consent and sample return to the laboratory were associated with cohort members’ characteristics (white ethnicity, being in a relationship, and better health) as well as survey-related characteristics (reading the saliva consent request booklet, participating in the prior survey wave, and consenting to linkage with health records). Furthermore, using experimental data we found that higher monetary incentives (£10 vs. £5) led to higher consent rates (57.8% vs. 53%) and a higher share of returned samples (29.8% vs. 20.6%). We also explore reasons for non-consenting, finding that most respondents motivate their decision with a vague answer (e.g. “don’t want”, “prefer not to”, “no reasons”), while 26.9% mentioned they were uncomfortable with the task, found it intrusive, or expressed privacy concerns. We conclude with recommendations for survey practice. Our work contributes to an emerging body of research, destined to expand as the incorporation of biomarkers collection in mixed-modes large scale multi-purpose social surveys increases.
| Type: | Working / discussion paper |
|---|---|
| Title: | Collecting saliva samples for DNA genotyping in a large-scale cohort study of young adults in England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/working_papers/collecting-sa... |
| Language: | English |
| Keywords: | Biological samples; Biomarkers; genetic data; return rates; Next Steps |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10205053 |
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