Ishikuro Mami, Obara Taku, Osanai Tamae, Yamanaka Chizuru, Sato Yuki, Mizuno Satoshi, Miyashita Masako, Kikuya Masahiro, Sakurai Kasumi, Hozawa Atsushi, Tomita Hiroaki, Taki Yasuyuki, Nagami Fuji, Metoki Hirohito, Kuriyama Shinichi
Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University.
Environment and Genome Research Center, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine.
Tohoku J Exp Med. 2018 Oct;246(2):97-105. doi: 10.1620/tjem.246.97.
Involvement of family members, especially grandparents, in genome epidemiological research is important to investigate both genetic and environmental factors of common diseases. The aim of the present study was to establish strategies to obtain enough number of family recruitment, especially focusing on grandparents, for the Tohoku Medical Megabank Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study. Our main strategies are summarized below. 1) We standardized informed consent process with reference materials to help people understand the consent form, 2) we created an invitation letter to contact family members, and 3) we recruited family members in several settings. To obtain informed consent, we were careful of explaining clearly the complex reasons as well as drawing people's attention. By the end of March 2017, the number of invitation letters distributed to family members through the pregnant women was 23,806, including 18,702 grandparents. Among the grandparents who received invitation letters, 2,935 (15.7%) responded to us. Furthermore, some grandparents were asked to provide informed consent with other family members by staff at maternal clinics or Community Support Centers, and others directly booked Community Support Centers without responding to the invitation letter. Grandparents joined the study anytime during mother's maternal check-ups or delivery. Overall, 8,054 grandparents participated in our birth cohort study. The setting in which most grandparents were recruited was our own facilities. Importantly, both paternal and maternal grandparents more frequently participated in the study if the father also participated. In conclusion, we are able to recruit not only pregnant women but also fathers and grandparents.
让家庭成员，尤其是祖父母参与基因组流行病学研究，对于调查常见疾病的遗传和环境因素非常重要。本研究的目的是制定策略，以获得足够数量的家庭招募对象，特别是针对祖父母，用于东北医学大数据库出生及三代队列研究。我们的主要策略总结如下。1）我们使用参考资料对知情同意程序进行了标准化，以帮助人们理解同意书；2）我们制作了一封邀请信来联系家庭成员；3）我们在多个场所招募家庭成员。为了获得知情同意，我们谨慎地清晰解释复杂的原因并吸引人们的注意。到2017年3月底，通过孕妇分发给家庭成员的邀请信数量为23,806封，其中包括18,702名祖父母。在收到邀请信的祖父母中，有2,935人（15.7%）回复了我们。此外，一些祖父母由产妇诊所或社区支持中心的工作人员要求与其他家庭成员一起提供知情同意，还有一些人直接预约了社区支持中心而未回复邀请信。祖父母在母亲进行产前检查或分娩期间的任何时间加入研究。总体而言，有8,054名祖父母参与了我们的出生队列研究。招募到最多祖父母的场所是我们自己的机构。重要的是，如果父亲也参与，祖父和祖母参与研究的频率更高。总之，我们不仅能够招募孕妇，还能招募父亲和祖父母。
