In the UK Biobank cohort, 94.6% of participants were of white ethnicity, which was similar to the national population of the same age range in the 2001 UK Census (94.5%) but somewhat higher than in the 2011 Census (91.3%; Table 1). UK Biobank participants were also more likely to own their property outright and were less likely to have a mortgage or loan, to share ownership, or to live in rental accommodations than the general population of the same age range (Table 2). Table 1.Comparison of the Self-Reported Ethnic Origins of UK Biobank Participants (Recruited in 2006–2010) With Census Data for the Age Group 40–69 Years in England, Wales, and Scotland in 2001 and 2011aEthnicitybUK Biobank (n = 499,877)2001 UK Census (n = 20,198,307)2011 UK Census (n = 23,146,612)No. of Persons%No. of Persons%No. of Persons%Whitec472,83794.619,085,32294.521,133,31791.3Black or black Britishd8,0661.6302,0731.5565,7772.4Mixede2,9580.682,3890.4191,0850.8Indian5,9511.2325,6511.6442,3381.9Pakistani1,8370.4147,6950.7239,1661.0Bangladeshi2360.046,2200.275,9190.3Chinese1,5740.370,5720.3109,4120.5Other Asian1,8580.473,9170.4240,3241.0Other ethnic group4,5600.964,4680.3149,2740.6Abbreviation: UK, United Kingdom.a See references 4 and 5 for further information about census data.b Excludes 2,778 UK Biobank participants aged 40–69 years who were missing data on ethnicity or responded “prefer not to answer” or “do not know.”c Included
