gms | German Medical Science

Symposium-Vorsitz: Dr. Dianna de Vries

Symposium-Vortragende: Dr. Dianna de Vries, Dr. Dan Liu, Rika Etteldorf, Deborah Früh, Maira Vera Montoya (Population Health Research, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE))

Content: The Rhineland Study is a population-based cohort study that started recruitment in 2016. The primary focus of the Rhineland Study is on aging and age-related brain disorders in adult life. Our aims are (1) to investigate modifiable and non-modifiable causes of neurodegenerative and other age-related diseases, (2) to find biomarkers/biomarker profiles to identify individuals at risk of such diseases and (3) to investigate normal and pathological structure and function over the adult life course.

All participants undergo in-depth phenotyping, including assessment of brain imaging, cognitive testing, neurological functioning and cardiovascular measures next to the collection of various types of biomaterials (including blood, urine, stool, hair, and toenails). The source population consists of all inhabitants aged 30 years or older in geographically defines areas in Bonn, Germany. Potential participants receive an invitation via mail. Participation is only possible upon invitation and regardless of health status. We will follow participants for decades with re-examinations taking place very 3-4 years.

There are currently >11,000 participants included in the Rhineland Study of which >4,000 have follow-up data. In this symposium we will present the vast opportunities this young cohort has due to its in-depth state-of-the-art data collection. We will showcase past milestones of the Rhineland Study, current insights and the future frontiers that lie ahead.

• “The Rhineland Study: Study design, population and recruitment” - Dr. Dianna de Vries
• “Multi-omics in the Rhineland Study - from genomics to metabolomics and everything in between” – Dr. Dan Liu
• “Cognitive function in the Rhineland Study – from determining Super Agers to the association with wet biomarkers” – Rika Etteldorf
• “MR Imaging phenotypes in the Rhineland Study - functional connectivity, diffusion imaging, diverse high-resolution structural segmentations and more” – Deborah Früh
• “Micro- and macrovascular phenotypes in the Rhineland Study and their association with PFAS and proteomics” – Maira Vera Montoya

The authors declare that a positive ethics committee vote has been obtained.