Respiratory Health in Northern Europe

The primary objective of this investigation was to study change in adults over a 20-year period in the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and disorders and its association to year of birth, lifestyle and sleep related variables. Secondary objectives included: - to assess the incidence and remission rate of asthma and allergic rhinitis and to determine risk factors in a representative Nordic population sample; - to assess the influence of occupational and home related environmental exposure on the development of asthma and allergic rhinitis in Northern Europe; - to investigate the association between the menstrual cycle and asthmatic symptoms in women; - to assess the incidence and remission of sleep disturbances and determine risk factors including atopy and asthma.

Overview

Acronym
RHINE
Investigators
Prof. Christer Janson
Uppsala University
Prof. Eva Lindberg
Uppsala University
Prof. Andrei Malinovishi
Uppsala University
Dr. Fredrik Sundbom
Uppsala University
Dr. Össur Emilsson
Uppsala University
Contacts
Prof. Christer Janson
Uppsala University

General Design

Study design
Cohort
Start - End Year
1990 - 2012
General Information on Follow Up (profile, frequency)
Participants were followed-up twice over the span of 20 years.
Recruitment Target
  • Individuals
Number of Participants
21,802
Supplementary Information
Respiratory Health In Northern Europe study (RHINE) is a 10 year follow-up of participants in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) from the Nordic countries, a total of 21802 subject born between 1945 and 1973 from Reykjavik(Iceland); Bergen(Norway); Aarhus(Denmark); Gothenburg, Uppsala, Umea (Sweden) and Tartu (Estonia). 11269 (6085 women and 5184 men) have participated in all three collection events. RHINE II 1999-2001 is a follow-up study of the participants from ECRHS stage 1 from seven Northern European centers: Reykjavik(Iceland); Bergen(Norway); Aarhus(Denmark); Gothenburg, Uppsala, Umea (Sweden) and Tartu (Estonia) and RHINE III 2010-2012, is a second follow-up performed in the same centers.

Access

Availability of data and biosamples

Possible Access to Data
Possible Access to Biosamples
Other

Register data available, but only for the Swedish part of the population. Air pollution data available for all centers based on geocoding.

Marker Papers

Janson C, Johannessen A, Franklin K, et al. Change in the prevalence asthma, rhinitis and respiratory symptom over a 20 year period: associations to year of birth, life style and sleep related symptoms. BMC Pulm Med. 2018;18(1):152.

PUBMED 30208969

Timeline

Population

RHINE population
The target population for the RHINE study were all subjects that participated in Stage 1 of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS).

Selection Criteria

Minimum age
20
Maximum age
44
Countries
  • Iceland
  • Norway
  • Denmark
  • Sweden
  • Estonia
Territory
Reykajvik(Iceland), Bergen(Norway), Aarhus(Denmark), Gothenburg(Sweden), Uppsala(Sweden), Tartu(Estonia)

Sources of Recruitment

General Population
  • Volunteer enrolment
Participants from Existing Studies
  • European Community Respiratory Health Survey, ECRHS
Supplementary Information
Between the years 1990 and 1994, a postal questionnaire was sent to 3000–4000 subjects at each center. Adults 20–44 years of age were randomly selected from seven centers in Northern Europe.

Sample Size

Number of Participants
21,802

Data Collection Events

# Name Data sources Data sources - Biosamples Start End
0 RHINE - Baseline
  • Questionnaires
  • Administrative databases
1990 1994
1 RHINE - Follow-up 1
  • Questionnaires
  • Physical measures
  • Administrative databases
1999 2001
2 RHINE - Follow-up 2
  • Questionnaires
  • Physical measures
  • Administrative databases
2010 2012

Participating Studies

Acronym Name Study design Countries

Harmonization Initiatives Included

Acronym Name

Datasets

Name Data Collection Events Variables

Areas of Information Collected

Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
Death
Lifestyle and behaviours
Physical measures and assessments
Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
Laboratory measures
Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
Diseases
Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
Symptoms and signs
Preschool, school and work life
Medication and supplements
Social environment and relationships
Non-pharmacological interventions
Physical environment
Health and community care services utilization
Administrative information

Variables Content Summary

Areas of Information Collected
No Areas of Information Collected
No Scales Collected
Areas of Information Collected per per Population and Data Collection Event
No Areas of Information Collected
No Scales Collected

Networks

Acronym Name Harmonization Initiatives Individual Studies
Last Update: 2023-05-03T11:07:43.887