Mrs. Jones is a twin in our study. One morning she received an email asking her to complete an online questionnaire from TwinsUK about antibiotic use in her life so far. The study was looking at the effect of antibiotic use over our lives on our gut microbes and on health conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Like most people, Mrs. Jones had not kept notes on her antibiotic use throughout her life.

With data linkage, we would be able to see when exactly Mrs. Jones has been prescribed antibiotics, which type, and for how long, much more easily and accurately. This would give us better quality data for our research study, and without needing to disturb Mrs. Jones.