AHRI.CO-LUMINATE Adolescents and Young Adults Longitudinal Dataset, 2000-2023
South Africa, 2012 - 2022
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Reference ID
AHRI.Columinate.mentalhealth.2025.v1
Producer(s)
Prof Xanthe Hunt, Dr Nondumiso Mthiyane, Prof Kathy Baisley, Prof Collins Iwuji, Prof Kobus Herbst
Metadata
Created on
Dec 19, 2025
Last modified
Dec 19, 2025
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Identification
Survey ID number
AHRI.Columinate.mentalhealth.2025.v1
Title
AHRI.CO-LUMINATE Adolescents and Young Adults Longitudinal Dataset, 2000-2023
Country
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| South Africa | ZA |
Abstract
This project investigates the longitudinal relationship between social determinants and depressive symptoms among South African youth aged 13-24 years. Leveraging the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS), the study creates the CO-LUMINATE dataset by linking longitudinal data for adolescents and young adults. The project employs a co-creation model that engages a group of Youth Co-Creators (YCC) to provide meaningful thought leadership to refine, guide, and contextualise the proposed research. Through co-creation processes and secondary data analysis, the study aims to generate transformative insights into the longitudinal associations between key social determinants of mental health and depressive symptoms among South African young people.
The UZIMA harmonised adolescent mental health data, derived from five HIV prevention studies, were merged with longitudinal HDSS household and individual-level data to create the CO-LUMINATE dataset. The dataset contains longitudinal household-level data (including parental information) and individual-level data for 6,207 participants aged 13-24 years. Household variables collected through repeated surveys conducted between 2000 and 2023 include socioeconomic status and the number of children aged 0-4 or 0-15 years. Parental information includes level of education and whether a participant lived with their mother or father during the survey year. Individual-level data collected in the five cohort studies from 2012 to 2022 include sociodemographic characteristics, behaviours, and general health indicators, including HIV status and mental health.
Together, these linked data provides a rich longitudinal framework for examining how social and household contexts shape mental health trajectories across adolescence and young adulthood. The CO-LUMINATE dataset is intended to support youth-centred, policy-relevant research that informs interventions and programmes aimed at improving mental health outcomes for young people in South Africa.
The UZIMA harmonised adolescent mental health data, derived from five HIV prevention studies, were merged with longitudinal HDSS household and individual-level data to create the CO-LUMINATE dataset. The dataset contains longitudinal household-level data (including parental information) and individual-level data for 6,207 participants aged 13-24 years. Household variables collected through repeated surveys conducted between 2000 and 2023 include socioeconomic status and the number of children aged 0-4 or 0-15 years. Parental information includes level of education and whether a participant lived with their mother or father during the survey year. Individual-level data collected in the five cohort studies from 2012 to 2022 include sociodemographic characteristics, behaviours, and general health indicators, including HIV status and mental health.
Together, these linked data provides a rich longitudinal framework for examining how social and household contexts shape mental health trajectories across adolescence and young adulthood. The CO-LUMINATE dataset is intended to support youth-centred, policy-relevant research that informs interventions and programmes aimed at improving mental health outcomes for young people in South Africa.
Kind of Data
The dataset contains longitudinal survey data.
Unit of Analysis
Study participants
Version
Version Description
v1.0.0
Scope
Topics
Keywords
CO-LUMINATE; Adolescent mental health, Social determinants; Depression; Harmonisation
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
The data was collected from the AHRI Health and Demographic Surveillance System in uMkhanyakude district, KwaZulu-Natal
Universe
The dataset includes adolescents and young adults aged 13-24 years from the harmonised UZIMA adolescent mental health dataset, whose data were linked with longitudinal HDSS survey data.
Producers and sponsors
Primary investigators
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Prof Xanthe Hunt | Africa Health Research Institute |
| Dr Nondumiso Mthiyane | Africa Health Research Institute |
| Prof Kathy Baisley | Africa Health Research Institute |
| Prof Collins Iwuji | Africa Health Research Institute |
| Prof Kobus Herbst | Africa Health Research Institute |
Producers
| Name |
|---|
| Africa Health Research Institute |
Funding Agency/Sponsor
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Wellcome Trust | WT | Funder |
Other Identifications/Acknowledgments
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Edwin Mkwanazi | Africa Health Research Institute | Data management and cleaning |
| Jaco Dreyer | Africa Health Research Institute | Data management and cleaning |
Sampling
Sampling Procedure
Participants in DREAMS, Multi-level, Isisekelo Sempilo and Thetha Nami were randomly selected from the HDSS, with sampling stratified by age group, sex, and geographic area. In TasP trial, participants were not randomly selected but all eligible household members were invited to participate in the study.
Data collection
Dates of Data Collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 2012-08-06 | 2022-12-08 |
Data processing
Data Editing
Parents of adolescents and young adults were identified by linking the surveillance episode dataset with the UZIMA mental health dataset. Parents' unique identifiers (MotherID and FatherID) were then used to extract information on educational attainment. Parental co-residency was aggregated by survey year, and individual and household ID maps were used to merge household-level data with individual-level records.
Access policy
Access conditions
Access to the data requires accurate completion of the online data access application form accessible on the AHRI Data repository(<https://data.ahri.org/>). Data users are required to abide by the data use conditions stipulated on the application for access to the data. Failure to do so may result in their data access privileges being revoked by the Data Custodian. In order to recognise the effort and intellectual contributions of AHRI investigators in producing and curating the data, users of AHRI data must acknowledge the source of the data and abide by the terms and conditions under which the data is accessed and must cite the dataset in publication using the citation provided as part of this documentation. All analytical datasets published on the AHRI Data Repository are assigned digital object identifier (DOIs) and the DOIs can be found on the Data Repository under Study Description tab - Access policy. AHRI data users are required to always cite the dataset using the relevant DOI.
Citation requirements
Hunt, X., Mthiyane, N., Baisley, K., Iwuji, C., & Herbst, K. (2025). AHRI.CO-LUMINATE Adolescents and Young Adults Longitudinal Dataset, 2000-2023 [Data set]. Africa Health Research Institute.
DOI:https://doi.org/10.23664/AHRI.COLUMINATE.MENTALHEALTH.2025.V1
DOI:https://doi.org/10.23664/AHRI.COLUMINATE.MENTALHEALTH.2025.V1
Metadata production
DDI Document ID
DDI.Columinate.mentalhealth.2025.v1
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Africa Health Research Institute | AHRI |