Department of Public Health, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
BMJ Open. 2017 Dec 14;7(12):e017873. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017873.
Ethnic minority groups usually have a more unfavourable disease risk profile than the host population. In Europe, ethnic inequalities in health have been observed in relatively small studies, with limited possibilities to explore underlying causes. The aim of the Healthy Life in an Urban Setting (HELIUS) study is to investigate the causes of (the unequal burden of) diseases across ethnic groups, focusing on three disease categories: cardiovascular diseases, mental health and infectious diseases.
The HELIUS study is a prospective cohort study among six large ethnic groups living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Between 2011 and 2015, a total 24 789 participants (aged 18-70 years) were included at baseline. Similar-sized samples of individuals of Dutch, African Surinamese, South-Asian Surinamese, Ghanaian, Turkish and Moroccan origin were included. Participants filled in an extensive questionnaire and underwent a physical examination that included the collection of biological samples (biobank).
Data on physical, behavioural, psychosocial and biological risk factors, and also ethnicity-specific characteristics (eg, culture, migration history, ethnic identity, socioeconomic factors and discrimination) were collected, as were measures of health outcomes (cardiovascular, mental health and infections). The first results have confirmed large inequalities in health between ethnic groups, such as diabetes and depressive symptoms, and also early markers of disease such as arterial wave reflection and chronic kidney disease, which can only just partially be explained by inequalities in traditional risk factors, such as obesity and socioeconomic status. In addition, the first results provided important clues for targeting prevention and healthcare.
HELIUS will be used for further research on the underlying causes of ethnic differences in health. Follow-up data will be obtained by repeated measurements and by linkages with existing registries (eg, hospital data, pharmacy data and insurance data).
少数民族群体的疾病风险状况通常比主体人群更为不利。在欧洲，一些相对较小的研究已经观察到了健康方面的种族不平等现象，而这些研究几乎没有可能去探究其潜在原因。“城市环境中的健康生活（HELIUS）”研究旨在调查不同种族群体之间（疾病）不平等负担的原因，重点关注心血管疾病、心理健康和传染病这三个疾病类别。
HELIUS 研究是一项在荷兰阿姆斯特丹的六个主要族裔群体中进行的前瞻性队列研究。在 2011 年至 2015 年间，共纳入了 24789 名（年龄在 18-70 岁之间）基线参与者。纳入了具有荷兰、非洲苏里南、南亚苏里南、加纳、土耳其和摩洛哥血统的相似规模的个体样本。参与者填写了一份详细的问卷并接受了体检，其中包括采集生物样本（生物库）。
目前已经收集了身体、行为、心理社会和生物风险因素的数据，以及与族裔相关的特征（如文化、移民史、族裔认同、社会经济因素和歧视），还收集了健康结果（心血管、心理健康和感染）的测量数据。最初的结果证实了不同族裔群体之间的健康存在巨大差异，例如糖尿病和抑郁症状，以及动脉反射波和慢性肾病等疾病的早期标志物，这些差异仅部分可以通过肥胖和社会经济地位等传统风险因素的不平等来解释。此外，最初的结果为有针对性地开展预防和医疗保健提供了重要线索。
HELIUS 将用于进一步研究健康方面的种族差异的根本原因。通过重复测量和与现有登记处（如医院数据、药房数据和保险数据）的链接，可以获得后续数据。
