The ambitious biomedical research project Cohorte Cantabria has today reached 40,000 participants, approaching its goal of 50,000 volunteers. The great reception of this initiative by the Cantabrian population reflects the commitment of our citizens to improve public health through research. The study has become so important that it has been presented to His Majesty King Felipe VI and on June 27th the Governing Council declared it a strategic action at regional level to provide it with its own governance and funding within the Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute Foundation (IDIVAL).
Cohorte Cantabria was launched in April 2021 and is led by the Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL). It takes place at the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (HUMV), where staff from IDIVAL and the Cantabrian Health Service work together to ensure excellent care for volunteers on a daily basis.
In a continuing effort to enrich the project, Cohorte Cantabria has recently added a new questionnaire on medical diagnoses covering all specialties. Work is also underway to include cognitive tests and more questionnaires on lifestyle habits to provide an even more complete picture of the determinants of health.
The collaboration of Cantabrians with the study goes beyond the donation of data and samples. Groups such as the Loredo Neighborhood Council, the Aras-Voto Women’s Association and the College of Economists have supported this research with financial contributions since its inception. In addition, companies such as PITMA, Nestlé or Sidenor have already signed an agreement for the dissemination of the study among their workers, facilitating their attendance during working hours. And more and more institutions are approaching the project to initiate scientific collaborations and position Cantabria at the forefront of research.
Cohorte Cantabria aims to recruit 20% of the target population, made up of Cantabrian residents between 40 and 69 years of age. The participation target has already been exceeded in municipalities such as Santa Cruz de Bezana and Camargo, and the team is focusing its efforts on increasing participation in more distant regions such as Liébana, Saja-Nansa, Campoo-Los Valles, Valles Pasiegos and Asón-Agüera to ensure a representative sample of the entire region.
Precision Medicine as a goal
Promoted by IDIVAL, the Valdecilla Hospital and with the support of the Government of Cantabria and the Cantabrian Health Service (SCS), Cohorte Cantabria’s mission is to advance personalized medicine. The study seeks to improve medicine so that it becomes more inclusive and takes a more preventive and predictive approach, protecting the health of all to avoid the development of certain diseases or improve the course of others.
The project, multipurpose and open to the scientific community, is generating an invaluable database with information on the habits, socioeconomic, demographic and clinical factors of the Cantabrian population. This anonymized information is available to develop national and international research projects that address health and disease from multiple perspectives.
For more information or to register, interested parties can visit the project website at https://cohortecantabria.com/.
Photo: part of the Cohort Cantabria team with the 40,000th participant and her husband.
