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Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort

Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort

 The first Dutch population-based prospective cohort study. Cohort
The first Dutch population-based prospective cohort study.
In 1965 one of the first large epidemiological studies started in the Netherlands: the population study in Vlagtwedde and Vlaardingen. The cohort was concluded in 1990 but the data from the databank still provides useful information into the origin of lung diseases.

Follow-up research into mortality in this cohort has resulted in the discovery that people with a higher airway sensitivity have a greater chance of dying from COPD. Research is currently being conducted into genetic causes of reduced lung function in the Vlagtwedde/Vlaardingen cohort. Reduced lung function is a normal phenomenon of ageing, but in some people it is accelerated. This can result in bronchial problems and diseases like COPD.

UMCG researchers have found that the ADAM33 gene is responsible for an accelerated reduction in lung function in the population as a whole and in patients with asthma and (severe) COPD. This gene can therefore be considered a general lung-ageing gene.

The Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort aimed to:

  • obtain data on the prevalence of chronic airway diseases;
  • gain a deeper insight in their natural history;
  • study the effects of endogenous factors like age, sex, the tendency to allergy and bronchial hyperresponsiveness;
  • study the effects of exogenous factors such as cigarette smoking and air pollution, on the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

  • Cohort

    Baseline

    Follow-up survey

    Vlagtwedde

    1965/1967

    1970

    1973

    1976

    1979

    1982

    1985

    1989

    N

    450/1,793

    2,109

    2,245

    2,212

    1,910

    1,973

    1,819

    1,753

    Vlaardingen

    1965/1969

    1972

    1975

    1978

    1981

    1984

    1987

    1990

    N

    859/1969

    1,679

    1,384

    1,219

    1,214

    977

    884

    800

  • Questionaire based:

    • Age
    • Gender
    • Smoking habits
    • Respiratory symptons

    Objective measurements:

    • Weight
    • Height
    • Spirometry
    • Number of eosinophils in peripheral blood
    • Skin prik test
    • Histamine airway responsiveness

    Additional data:

    • Vital status at 31-12-2016
    • Occupational exposure
    • Total serum IgE
    • Genetic data

  • Department of Epidemiology in collaboration with GRIAC research groups.

  • Publications Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen study (University of Groningen) 

Relevance

How the Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort benefits to society

Given the study's state-of-the-art prospective epidemiological research design, with standardized and repeated measurements of potential risk factors, lung function indeces and bronchial hyperresonsiveness, the study had led to identification of several host related risk factors for the onset and course of chronic airway diseases like COPD.

Contact

Maaike de Vries
Maaike de Vries Postdoc researcher

University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG)
Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort
PO Box 30.001
9700 RB Groningen
The Netherlands

Visiting address
University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG)
Department of Pulmonology
Antonius Deusinglaan 1
9713 AV Groningen