TY - JOUR

T1 - Danish Pathology Life Course (PATHOLIFE) cohort

T2 - a register based cohort extending upon a national tissue biobank

AU - Nielsen, Pernille Yde

AU - Bartholdy, Andreas

AU - Gjerdrum, Lise Mette Rahbek

AU - Westendorp, Rudi Gerardus Johannes

AU - Mortensen, Laust Hvas

AU - Bhatt, Samir

AU - Jensen, Majken Karoline

N1 - © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - PURPOSE: The Danish Pathology Life Course (PATHOLIFE) cohort was established to facilitate epidemiological research relating histological and cytological features extracted from patient tissue specimens to the rich life course histories, including both prior and future register data, of the entire Danish population. Research results may increase quality of diagnosis, prognosis and stratification of patient subtypes, possibly identifying novel routes of treatment.PARTICIPANTS: All Danish residents from 1 January 1986 to 31 December 2019, totalling 8 593 421 individuals.FINDINGS TO DATE: We provide an overview of the subpopulation of Danish residents who have had a tissue specimen investigated within the Danish healthcare system, including both the primary sector and hospitals. We demonstrate heterogeneity in sociodemographic and prognostic factors between the general Danish population and the above mentioned subpopulation, and also between the general Danish population and subpopulations of patients with tissue specimens from selected anatomical sites. Results demonstrate the potential of the PATHOLIFE cohort for integrating many different factors into identification and selection of the most valuable tissue blocks for studies of specific diseases and their progression. Broadly, we find that living with a partner, having higher education and income associates with having a biopsy overall. However, this association varies across different tissue and patient types, which also display differences in time-to-death and causes of death.FUTURE PLANS: The PATHOLIFE cohort may be used to study specified patient groups and link health related events from several national health registries, and to sample patient groups, for which stored tissue specimens are available for further research investigations. The PATHOLIFE cohort thereby provides a unique opportunity to prospectively follow people that were characterised and sampled in the past.

AB - PURPOSE: The Danish Pathology Life Course (PATHOLIFE) cohort was established to facilitate epidemiological research relating histological and cytological features extracted from patient tissue specimens to the rich life course histories, including both prior and future register data, of the entire Danish population. Research results may increase quality of diagnosis, prognosis and stratification of patient subtypes, possibly identifying novel routes of treatment.PARTICIPANTS: All Danish residents from 1 January 1986 to 31 December 2019, totalling 8 593 421 individuals.FINDINGS TO DATE: We provide an overview of the subpopulation of Danish residents who have had a tissue specimen investigated within the Danish healthcare system, including both the primary sector and hospitals. We demonstrate heterogeneity in sociodemographic and prognostic factors between the general Danish population and the above mentioned subpopulation, and also between the general Danish population and subpopulations of patients with tissue specimens from selected anatomical sites. Results demonstrate the potential of the PATHOLIFE cohort for integrating many different factors into identification and selection of the most valuable tissue blocks for studies of specific diseases and their progression. Broadly, we find that living with a partner, having higher education and income associates with having a biopsy overall. However, this association varies across different tissue and patient types, which also display differences in time-to-death and causes of death.FUTURE PLANS: The PATHOLIFE cohort may be used to study specified patient groups and link health related events from several national health registries, and to sample patient groups, for which stored tissue specimens are available for further research investigations. The PATHOLIFE cohort thereby provides a unique opportunity to prospectively follow people that were characterised and sampled in the past.

KW - Humans

KW - Biological Specimen Banks

KW - Life Change Events

KW - Epidemiologic Studies

KW - Denmark/epidemiology

KW - Registries

U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-068483

DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-068483

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37085298

VL - 13

JO - BMJ Open

JF - BMJ Open

SN - 2044-6055

IS - 4

M1 - e068483

ER -