Lifelines helps unravel the secrets of healthy ageing
Lifelines, one of Europe’s largest biobanks and a valuable resource for research supported by Longfonds, is inviting new participants to join for the first time in twenty years.
About Lifelines
Lifelines is a biobank: a repository of biological samples, such as blood and urine, that are used for scientific research. Since its launch in 2006, Lifelines has been following around ten per cent of the population of the three northern provinces of the Netherlands – almost 170,000 people. Its aim is to gain a better understanding of healthy ageing: why do some people remain healthy as they grow older, while others develop chronic diseases? Participants regularly complete questionnaires about their lifestyle, diet and well-being. Once every five years, they visit a research location for health measurements and blood collection. The anonymised data are used by researchers, hospitals and companies around the world, including for research funded by the Lung Foundation Netherlands.
Longfonds and Lifelines
Research funded by Longfonds also makes use of the Lifelines biobank. One example is Thijs Eijsvogels’ ActiveLIFE-LONG project, which investigates how physical activity can help people with COPD improve their health and quality of life. Elin Kersten also uses the biobank in her research. She aims to understand why some children develop asthma while others do not.
Four generations
The population study is looking to recruit around 16,000 relatives of existing participants. However, not everyone can sign up for this new group. To be eligible, you must be 40 years old or younger, live in Groningen, Drenthe or Friesland, and have a relative who is already taking part, such as a sibling, child or grandchild. Existing participants will soon receive information on how they can invite family members to take part. The focus on relatives is deliberate: it allows researchers to study hereditary patterns and family connections over a longer period, spanning four generations. The expansion has been made possible by a grant from the National Programme Groningen (NPG).
More years in good health
New participants will also receive an immediate benefit: a free health check. But the main motivation is the opportunity to contribute to this unique population-based scientific study, which aims to discover why some people remain healthy as they grow older while others do not. Ultimately, the goal is simple: more years in good health for everyone.