8,445 research outputs found
Lifelines NEXT:a prospective birth cohort adding the next generation to the three-generation Lifelines cohort study
No full textEpidemiological research has shown there to be a strong relationship between preconceptional, prenatal, birth and early-life factors and lifelong health. The Lifelines NEXT is a birth cohort designed to study the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic determinants on health and disease in a four-generation design. It is embedded within the Lifelines cohort study, a prospective three-generation population-based cohort study recording the health and health-related aspects of 167,729 individuals living in Northern Netherlands. In Lifelines NEXT we aim to include 1500 pregnant Lifelines participants and intensively follow them, their partners and their children until at least 1 year after birth. Longer-term follow-up of physical and psychological health will then be embedded following Lifelines procedures. During the Lifelines NEXT study period biomaterials-including maternal and neonatal (cord) blood, placental tissue, feces, breast milk, nasal swabs and urine-will be collected from the mother and child at 10 time points. We will also collect data on medical, social, lifestyle and environmental factors via questionnaires at 14 different time points and continuous data via connected devices. The extensive collection of different (bio)materials from mother and child during pregnancy and afterwards will provide the means to relate environmental factors including maternal and neonatal microbiome composition) to (epi)genetics, health and developmental outcomes. The nesting of the study within Lifelines enables us to include preconceptional transgenerational data and can be used to identify other extended families within the cohort.</p
Cohort Profile: LifeLines, a three-generation cohort study and biobank
No full textThe LifeLines Cohort Study is a large population-based cohort study and biobank that was established as a resource for research on complex interactions between environmental, phenotypic and genomic factors in the development of chronic diseases and healthy ageing. Between 2006 and 2013, inhabitants of the northern part of The Netherlands and their families were invited to participate, thereby contributing to a three-generation design. Participants visited one of the LifeLines research sites for a physical examination, including lung function, ECG and cognition tests, and completed extensive questionnaires. Baseline data were collected for 167 729 participants, aged from 6 months to 93 years. Follow-up visits are scheduled every 5 years, and in between participants receive follow-up questionnaires. Linkage is being established with medical registries and environmental data. LifeLines contains information on biochemistry, medical history, psychosocial characteristics, lifestyle and more. Genomic data are available including genome-wide genetic data of 15 638 participants. Fasting blood and 24-h urine samples are processed on the day of collection and stored at -80 degrees C in a fully automated storage facility. The aim of LifeLines is to be a resource for the national and international scientific community. Requests for data and biomaterials can be submitted to the LifeLines Research Office [[email protected]]
Representativeness of the LifeLines Cohort Study
No full textBackground LifeLines is a large prospective population-based three generation cohort study in the north of the Netherlands. Different recruitment strategies were adopted: recruitment of an index population via general practitioners, subsequent inclusion of their family members, and online self-registration. Our aim was to investigate the representativeness of the adult study population at baseline and to evaluate differences in the study population according to recruitment strategy. Methods Demographic characteristics of the LifeLines study population, recruited between 2006–2013, were compared with the total adult population in the north of the Netherlands as registered in the Dutch population register. Socioeconomic characteristics, lifestyle, chronic diseases, and general health were further compared with participants of the Permanent Survey of Living Conditions within the region (2005–2011, N = 6,093). Differences according to recruitment strategy were assessed. Results Compared with the population of the north of the Netherlands, LifeLines participants were more often female, middle aged, married, living in a semi-urban place and Dutch native. Adjusted for differences in demographic composition, in LifeLines a smaller proportion had a low educational attainment (5% versus 14%) or had ever smoked (54% versus 66%). Differences in the prevalence of various chronic diseases and low general health scores were mostly smaller than 3%. The age profiles of the three recruitment groups differed due to age related inclusion criteria of the recruitment groups. Other differences according to recruitment strategy were small. Conclusions Our results suggest that, adjusted for differences in demographic composition, the LifeLines adult study population is broadly representative for the adult population of the north of the Netherlands. The recruitment strategy had a minor effect on the level of representativeness. These findings indicate that the risk of selection bias is low and that risk estimates in LifeLines can be generalized to the general population
The Lifelines Cohort Study: A rich data source for demographers
No full textPopulation-based cohort studies are important for causal analyses between demographic events and healthrelated outcomes. The University of Groningen has been building the Lifelines Cohort Study, which offers rich possibilities for cross-fertilization between demographers and biomedical researchers. A primer for theuninitiated
The Lifelines Cohort Study: A rich data source for demographers
No full textPopulation-based cohort studies are important for causal analyses between demographic events and healthrelated outcomes. The University of Groningen has been building the Lifelines Cohort Study, which offers rich possibilities for cross-fertilization between demographers and biomedical researchers. A primer for theuninitiated
The Lifelines Cohort Study: A rich data source for demographers
No full textPopulation-based cohort studies are important for causal analyses between demographic events and healthrelated outcomes. The University of Groningen has been building the Lifelines Cohort Study, which offers rich possibilities for cross-fertilization between demographers and biomedical researchers. A primer for theuninitiated
Cohort Profile:The Dutch Perined-Lifelines birth cohort
No full textBACKGROUND: Maternal nutrition status (e.g. dietary/nutrient intake) during pregnancy has been associated with pregnancy outcomes including birth weight, infant survival and metabolic health of the offspring during later life. During the past few years, maternal dietary intake, at least three months before conception, has been shown to affect pregnancy outcomes also. However, literature investigating this link is still scarce. The studies that have looked at preconception dietary intake in relation to pregnancy outcome were either animal studies, had small sample sizes or focused on only selected macronutrient intake rather than complete (macro)nutrient composition or dietary intakes (e.g. food groups). Therefore, we aim to investigate the association between preconception diet and pregnancy outcomes in a linked birth cohort. The main objective of this manuscript is to describe the methodology of establishing this birth cohort and to describe both the characteristics of the study population included as well as the representativeness in terms of dietary intake.METHODS: We created the birth cohort by linking two existing databases; a large population-based cohort study in the Netherlands (The Lifelines Cohort study) and the Dutch national birth registry (Perined), through a 'trusted third party'. The birth cohort contains information on maternal dietary intake during preconception as well as pregnancy outcomes.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In the Lifelines Cohort study, 3,418 pregnancies were available for linking with Perined. In total, 2,368 pregnancies (86.9%) were linked with Perined, resulting in the birth cohort. With this linked cohort we are able to provide insights on the associations between dietary intake before conception and pregnancy outcomes. Such data could potentially improve nutritional care for women of childbearing age. Lifestyle changes in the period preceding pregnancy may be most effective in improving pregnancy outcomes. A focus on this window of opportunity may provide both sufficient time, as well as a period when women are potentially motivated to adopt health optimizing behaviours.</p
Cohort profile: Lifelines DEEP, a prospective, general population cohort study in the northern Netherlands: study design and baseline characteristics
No full textPurpose There is a critical need for population-based prospective cohort studies because they follow individuals before the onset of disease, allowing for studies that can identify biomarkers and disease-modifying effects, and thereby contributing to systems epidemiology. Participants This paper describes the design and baseline characteristics of an intensively examined subpopulation of the LifeLines cohort in the Netherlands. In this unique subcohort, LifeLines DEEP, we included 1539 participants aged 18 years and older. Findings to date We collected additional blood (n=1387), exhaled air (n=1425) and faecal samples (n=1248), and elicited responses to gastrointestinal health questionnaires (n=1176) for analysis of the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, microbiome, metabolome and other biological levels. Here, we provide an overview of the different data layers in LifeLines DEEP and present baseline characteristics of the study population including food intake and quality of life. We also describe how the LifeLines DEEP cohort allows for the detailed investigation of genetic, genomic and metabolic variation for a wide range of phenotypic outcomes. Finally, we examine the determinants of gastrointestinal health, an area of particular interest to us that can be addressed by LifeLines DEEP. Future plans We have established a cohort of which multiple data levels allow for the integrative analysis of populations for translation of this information into biomarkers for disease, and which will offer new insights into disease mechanisms and prevention
The LifeLines Cohort Study: Prevalence and treatment of cardiovascular disease and risk factors
No full textAbstractBackgroundThe LifeLines Cohort Study is a large three-generation prospective study and Biobank. Recruitment and data collection started in 2006 and follow-up is planned for 30years. The central aim of LifeLines is to understand healthy ageing in the 21st century. Here, the study design, methods, baseline and major cardiovascular phenotypes of the LifeLines Cohort Study are presented.Methods and resultsBaseline cardiovascular phenotypes were defined in 9700 juvenile (8–18years) and 152,180 adult (≥18years) participants. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) was defined using ICD-10 criteria. At least one cardiovascular risk factor was present in 73% of the adult participants. The prevalence, adjusted for the Dutch population, was determined for risk factors (hypertension (33%), hypercholesterolemia (19%), diabetes (4%), overweight (56%), and current smoking (19%)) and CVD (myocardial infarction (1.8%), heart failure (1.0%), and atrial fibrillation (1.3%)). Overall CVD prevalence increased with age from 9% in participants<65years to 28% in participants≥65years. Of the participants with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes, respectively 75%, 96% and 41% did not receive preventive pharmacotherapy.ConclusionsThe contemporary LifeLines Cohort Study provides researchers with unique and novel opportunities to study environmental, phenotypic, and genetic risk factors for CVD and is expected to improve our knowledge on healthy ageing. In this contemporary Western cohort we identified a remarkable high percentage of untreated CVD risk factors suggesting that not all opportunities to reduce the CVD burden are utilised
The Lifelines Cohort Study: a data source available for studying informal caregivers’ experiences and the outcomes of informal caregiving
No full textBackground Informal care is taking an increasingly important role in our health care system, and an improvement in our understanding of caregiving experiences and outcomes has become more relevant. The Lifelines informal care add-on study (Lifelines ICAS) was initiated within the Lifelines Cohort Study to cover the large heterogeneity in the caregiver population and to investigate the complex interplay among the characteristics of the caregiver, care recipient, and care situation and positive and negative caregiver outcomes. In this paper, we discuss the study design and data collection procedures of Lifelines ICAS, provide a detailed overview of its measures, and describe the caregiver study population. Methods Lifelines participants who participated in the 2nd Lifelines follow-up questionnaire were asked whether they provided informal care. Subsequently, they were invited to participate in Lifelines ICAS. Descriptive statistics were used to describe all informal caregivers in the 2nd Lifelines follow-up questionnaire and to describe the subsample of informal caregivers participating in Lifelines ICAS. Results A total of 11,651 Lifelines participants were self-identified as an informal caregiver and provided basic information about their care situation. A subsample of 965 informal caregivers participated in Lifelines ICAS and completed a comprehensive questionnaire about their care situation. In this subsample, the average age of caregivers was 53 years (SD 9.8), 75% were female, and 56% cared for a parent (in-law). Care recipients were on average 68 years old (SD 23.5), and 64% were female. Discussion Considering that informal caregivers are a huge resource for our health care system, Lifelines ICAS enables the study of differences among caregivers, care recipients, and care situations, as well as the study of common characteristics and features across caregiver groups. Notably, data from the Lifelines Cohort Study and Lifelines ICAS are available to all researchers on a fee-for-service basis, and Lifelines ICAS data may be enhanced by one or more follow-up measurements or linkages with other data sources
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