Utrecht Health Project (LRGP)

Part of the participants in JHN are further fenotyped in the Utrecht Health Project. This is a population based cohort study of the inhabitants of Leidsche Rijn, a district in the west of the city Utrecht. Residents of Leidsche Rijn who register at one of the academic healthcare centres receive a written invitation to participate in the Utrecht Health Project (UHP) from their general practitioner. The goal of this project is to conduct high quality scientific research on the determinants of disease, the effects of prevention, treatment and health strategies, the impact of innovations in health care policies, and public health policies
Het doel van dit project is om hoogwaardig wetenschappelijk onderzoek te doen naar de determinanten van ziekte, de effecten van preventie, behandeling en gezondheidsstrategieën, de impact van innovaties in het gezondheidsbeleid en het publieke gezondheidsbeleid.

Individual Health Profile

Approximately 10,000 inhabitants have given their informed consent to participate in the study. Of all these participants an Individual Health Profile (IHP) was made. The IHP is a check of a number of health characteristics, potential determinants for illness or healthiness in the future. The results of the IHP are the starting point for the following of the health career of the participant. Also blood was drawn from most participants and in some cases an ECG and spirometry was performed.

Governance

The Utrecht health project is a collaboration between the Leidsche Rijn Julius Gezondheids Centra (Julius Health Care Centers) and the University Medical Center Utrecht. The operational responsibility resides with the Health Care Centers. The scientific responsibility resides with the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care at the University Medical Center Utrecht. Ethical permission has been obtained by the applicable boards and all participants undergoing the Individual Health Profile give written informed consent.

Which Information Is Collected?

In order to compose the Individual Health Profile (IHP) the following information is collected.

Medical history

• Chronic illnesses
• Operations
• Infectious diseases, allergies
• Medication usage
• Cardiovascular risk factors

Questionnaires

• SES (Social Economic Status, education, profession, income)
• Health Status (illnesses, medications)
• Actual physical problems
• Life-style factors (alcohol, smoking)
• Accidents
• RAND/SF36 questionnaire
• SCL90 questionnaire / as from 2005 PHQ questionnaire
• GHQ 13 questionnaire
• Rose (Claudication questionnaire)
• Dyspepsia questionnaire (Veldhuizen van Zanten, as from 2005 NEPEAN)

Biometrics

• Age, sex
• Length
• Weight, waist circumference
• Blood pressure
• Cholesterol, lipid spectrum
• Fasting glucose
• Spirometry and ECG in certain groups

Frozen blood samples (buffy coat, DNA, serum)

From the General Practitioner routine database registry the following coded information is collected:

• Consultations
• Visits/house calls
• Prescriptions
• Diagnoses (with ICPC coding)
• Referrals (primary and secondary care)
• Measured values (laboratory, pathological anatomy)
• Diagnostic tests (radio-diagnostics, endoscopies)

Permission is obtained from participants to couple the information from routine healthcare in the UHP with other long term databases or registries in The Netherlands (mortality, chronic disease, oncology, hospital registration, farmaceutical databases).