Copenhagen City Heart Study. An epidemiological cohort study with repeated measurements: history, course, and results.

Abstract

The Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS) is an ongoing epidemiological cohort study with repeated measurements. The results of the study have been published in more than 1300 papers, 96 PhD theses, and 27 doctoral dissertations.

Aims: In the Western world, including Denmark, incidence of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was increasing rapidly after the Second World War. The causes were not well known, and treatment was limited. To expand the evidence for prevention, the CCHS was initiated.

Methods: In 1976, a random population sample including 20,000 men and women aged 20 and above, drawn from 90,000 citizens living in a defined area of Copenhagen City, was invited to a health examination that included a self-administered questionnaire and measurements of height, weight, blood pressure, lung function, cholesterol level, blood glucose concentration, and an electrocardiogram. The response rate was 75%. The study was repeated in 1981-1983, 1991-1994, 2001-2003, and 2011-2015 by inviting the survivors of the original sample augmented by new participants. The number of examination methods has expanded since its inception, and now contains standard epidemiological methods, echocardiography, and a large array of biochemistry and DNA for genetic analysis.

Results: The mission of the study, to contribute to the prevention of IHD and AMI, has to a large extend been fulfilled. Furthermore, the study has contributed to many other fields of investigation: genetics, pulmonary medicine, cancer, ophthalmology, surgery, and others.

Conclusions: CCHS is an ongoing population study with marked impact on the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The study has also contributed to other fields of investigation.