Scientific Concept of the National Cohort (status ... - Nationale Kohorte

C.1
C.1 Annex: Description of the study centers
As part of the planning phase of the Helmholtz cohort, DIfE has (together with the German
Cancer Research Center, DKFZ) set up the working group physical activity and (together
with the Helmholtz-Center Munich) the working group on diet. The two working groups
could make use of the expertise of their about 30 members and developed an expert report
with detailed suggestions for scientific approaches and protocols for Diet and Physical Activity
to be addressed in the National Cohort. The DIfE will establish and operate the study
center Berlin-South.
Description of the study center Berlin-South/Brandenburg
The study center will be located in Berlin-South at the Campus Benjamin Franklin. In this
campus, DIfE already supports a metabolic unit established due to a joint professorship with
the Charité. The study center in Berlin-South as well as the study centers Berlin-North and
Berlin-Center cover the EPI2B metropolitan area Berlin-Brandenburg. It offers nearby examination
facilities with a minimum of travel time for those participants living in the southern
part of the study area.
Table 1: Overview of participating institutions and investigators/scientists
Study support center
Table 19: Overview of participating institutions and investigators/scientists
Institution
Town
Principal investigator
Institute/department/division
e-mail
Associated scientist
e-mail
Description of the institution
Robert Koch Institut (RKI) Berlin
13302 Berlin
Dr. Bärbel-Maria Kurth
Department of Epidemiology and Health Reporting
KurthB@rki.de
PD Dr. Martin Schlaud
Department of Epidemiology and Health Reporting
SchlaudM@rki.de
The robert koch Institute (rkI) is the central federal institution responsible for disease
control and prevention and is therefore the central federal reference institution for both applied
and response-oriented research and for the public health sector. The Department of Epidemiology
and Health Reporting of the RKI is responsible for health reporting to the German
federal government and thus for initiating and conducting nationwide health surveys, many
of which are embedded in the European Health Monitoring Network. RKI has been conducting
large population-based studies for more than 25 years, starting with cross-sectional
prevalence studies in the 1980s, and later prospective cohort studies in adults (1990s) and
children/adolescents (2000s). Since 2008, a national health monitoring system has been established
at the RKI. In this system, representative health interview and examination surveys
are conducted according to a schedule of fixed intervals. The aim of the health surveys is to
collect up-to-date information on the health and health behavior of the German population,
to determine trends over time and to identify risk factors. Furthermore, the additionally integrated
panel component makes it possible to reveal temporary sequences, developmental
trajectories, and potential causal relations. Currently, one cohort study in adults (n = 8,000)
and one cohort study in children/adolescents (n = 17,500) are ongoing. The full planning, development,
and testing of survey instruments, recruitment, address management, field work,
254