Immunology and the immune system
Advice on research activities
Basic studies of the normal immune response are considered as normal function and should be coded within the 1 Underpinning code group.
However if a study of the immune system is associated with the cause, development, prevention, detection or treatment of a specific disease it should be assigned to the appropriate Research Activity code.
Advice on health categories
Wounds (including fractures) may result from surgery, disease or trauma / assault.
Only code to Injuries and Accidents if the wounds were a result of accident or injury. Otherwise apply the relevant Health Category if the wound tissue type is specified or Generic Health Relevance if the abstract doesn’t specify a tissue type.
Advice on research activities
Basic cellular mechanisms of wound healing are normal function i.e. 1 Underpinning. However investigation of the cause, diagnosis, treatment and management of wound healing should be assigned to the appropriate Research Activity code.
Advice on health categories
If the subject of a study is the foetus or the new born it should be coded as Reproductive Health and Childbirth and also the condition being investigated, if relevant.
If the investigation involves examining the effects of exposure to agents in utero or more generally during pregnancy on children or adults, code the research to the condition under investigation and not to Reproduction.
e.g. potential increased risk of cardiovascular disease in adults as a result of maternal malnutrition should be coded 100% Cardiovascular.
Advice on research activities
Pregnancy is considered normal function and coded within the 1 Underpinning code group but investigation of factors impacting on pregnancy should be coded elsewhere.
Advice on health categories
Normal development and function, or conditions causing damage to the eye should be coded to Eye. Studies of brain regions responsible for vision should be coded as Neurological and not Eye. If the research involves the transmission of signals from the eye to the brain it may be appropriate to code for both the organ and the brain.
Advice on health categories
Only use the following standardised breakdown of health categories and percentages for general studies on physical activity and exercise where there is no other indication of disease area:
| Health Category | Percentage |
| Cancer and neoplasms | 20 |
| Cardiovascular | 20 |
| Metabolic and Endocrine | 20 |
| Oral and Gastrointestinal | 20 |
| Stroke | 20 |
Note this standardised breakdown is shared with research on diet, obesity and nutrition.
Advice on research activities
Education is not just in 3 Prevention – educational interventions are also found in 4 Detection and Diagnosis and 7 Disease Management.
There are a number of research areas that are repeated in different parts of the Research Activity Codes. Classification of research is context dependent and the coding guidance for assigning research activities is to identify the appropriate main code group first, then to assigning a code within it.
Advice on research activities
Economic evaluation is an essential component of trials and health technology assessments. However the main aim of these studies is usually to evaluate the effect or suitability of the intervention.
Unless one of the primary aims of a trial is health economics, just code for the therapy under investigation and not also to code 8.2 Health and welfare economics for the economic evaluation. The 8.2 Economics code should be used for research where those aspects are the main focus of the study.
Advice on health categories
Normal development and function, or conditions causing damage to the ear should be coded to Ear. Studies of brain regions responsible for hearing should be coded as Neurological and not Ear. If the research involves the transmission of signals from the ear to the brain it may be appropriate to code for both the organ and the brain.
Advice on health categories
The coding for studies on obesity, diet and nutrition will depend on the nature of the research.
Use Metabolic and Endocrine for investigation of metabolic disorders or dietary metabolism. Mental Health is appropriate for studies of eating disorders and Oral and Gastrointestinal should be used to code for studies of absorption from the gut.
Only use the following standardised breakdown of health categories and percentages for general studies on nutrition, obesity or poor diet where there is no other indication of disease area:
| Health Category | Percentage |
| Cancer and neoplasms | 20 |
| Cardiovascular | 20 |
| Metabolic and Endocrine | 20 |
| Oral and Gastrointestinal | 20 |
| Stroke | 20 |
Note that this standardised breakdown is shared with research on physical activity and exercise.
Advice on research activities
Obesity is considered a risk factor for other diseases. Therefore, interventions to reduce obesity should be coded as 3 Prevention, even if the person is already obese. Use 5 Treatment Development or 6 Treatment Evaluation for studies focussed on treatment of an existing obesity-related disease and in cases of secondary prevention (additional guidance on differentiating secondary and primary prevention is also available).
There are three main research activity code groups typically associated with diet and nutrition research:
- 3 Prevention for studies focussed on preventing ill health or promoting well being.
- Use 3.1 Primary Prevention for interventions that aim to modify behaviour or lifestyle
- Use 3.3 Nutrition Prevention for studies on the chemopreventative / health protective effect of nutrients, probiotics and nutritional supplements.
- For studies where nutrition, diet or exercise is used to treat established diseases/conditions. Use 5 Treatment Development for pre-clinical research and 6 Treatment Evaluation for clinical/applied research.
- Use 5.1 or 6.1 (Pharmaceuticals) for direct use of nutritional supplements as therapeutics
- Use 5.2 or 6.2 (Cellular / Gene Therapy) for microbiota transplantation therapy
- Use 5.7 or 6.7 (Physical) for dietics (nutrition and dietary advice) and exercise/physical therapy
- Use 5.8 or 6.8 (Complementary) for studies of homeopathy
Advice on health categories
If it is a basic, normal developmental study that does not focus on a specific type of cell or system it should be coded as Generic Health Relevance.
If the investigation is directed to the normal development of a particular cell or system it should be coded to the appropriate Health Category.
Advice on research activities
If it is a basic, normal developmental study or is focused on a specific type of cell or system it should be coded 1.1 Biological.