The Kadoorie Biobank study.

The Kadoorie Biobank Study is one of the world's largest blood-based prospective studies of the environmental and genetic determinants of chronic diseases. During 2004-8, 515,000 adults aged 35-74 from 10 regions across China were enrolled, with extensive data collection by questionnaire and physical measurement, and with storage of blood (including DNA) for future research. Funding is requested over the next 5 years to cover a re-survey of 25,000 participants; maintenance, management and analys is of data; secure storage of blood samples; and follow-up of cause-specific morbidity and mortality. During the next 5 years, there will be ~125,000 hospital admissions and ~25,000 deaths among the participants, which should yield reliable information about the effects of smoking, BMI, blood pressure, lung function, and many other non-blood-related factors on diseases in this population. Moreover, since stroke is relatively common in China and routinely investigated by CT/MR imaging, a nested c ase-control study of blood-related factors (including lipid fractions, inflammatory markers and genes) could be conducted during that period among ~7,500 well characterised strokes and ~15,000 matched controls. Much of what is discovered in the Kadoorie Biobank Study will be of general relevance to disease mechanisms in other developing and developed populations.