University of Copenhagen to track health of 10,000 Danes over 25 years

It will be the largest population study of its kind ever conducted in Denmark.

10,000 people will be tested over a period of up to 25 years across a wide range of parameters and monitored closely. The purpose is to achieve a better understanding of the connection between the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and general health, as well as the environmental factors that we are exposed to in our daily lives.

The project is titled The Danish Precision Health Initiative (DELPHI), takes place at the University of Copenhagen’s (UCPH) Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, and is led by Professor and Deputy Director Ruth Loos.

»My hope is that in the future we can tailor our treatments and prevention strategies to the individual and their unique circumstances,« she says, adding:

»We want the participants to broadly represent the Danish population in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, and health. This is why we also want participants both with and without cardiometabolic diseases,« says the professor.

We believe that signs will be detectable at an early age — even before diseases develop

Ruth Loos, research leader, DELPHI

Specifically, participants will undergo intensive testing over a two-week period. The investigations will then be repeated every two or five years, depending on the participants’ age.

»During the two-week period, we will measure weight and body composition, liver fat, eye health, strength, fitness, and lung function,« says Ruth Loos and continues:

»We will also collect samples of blood, hair, and urine. In addition, participants will wear a silicone wristband to assess exposure to pollution and a monitor to measure physical activity.«

Participants will also have a blood glucose monitor attached to their arm during the period, wear a Garmin watch, and track everything they eat via a special new AI system. They will also carry out a glucose tolerance test at home and play mini-games to test cognitive function.

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In other words, the two weeks of testing are quite intensive for the participants, explains the professor, who also notes that even more tests could have been added — but that it would have been too demanding for the participants.

When are signs of disease detectable?

Current research into obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease uses arbitrary measures to find connections between general health and the development of these types of diseases, according to Ruth Loos.

»For example, we say: If you have a BMI over 30, you are severely overweight, or if your fasting blood glucose level is above seven mmol/l, then you have diabetes. But there are an enormous number of factors that can influence each individual case, and that is what we are trying to map out,« she says, and continues:

»These diseases develop at different times during a person’s life, often around the age of 40. But we believe that signs will be detectable at an early age — even before the diseases occur. That is why it is so important that we now have the opportunity to test a large number of participants. I wish we could test even more, but 10,000 is a good starting point.«

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The upcoming population study builds on a pilot project with 29 participants, and the researchers behind it have just begun recruiting the first participants for the new project.

According to Ruth Loos, more than 1,000 people have already registered via the project website.