The KORA study
(Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg) is a German
population-based prospective cohort study investigating risk factors,
early detection, and prevention of chronic diseases. KORA focuses on
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health, health in old age, lung
health, and the role of social determinants and environmental
exposures.The KORA study recruited
17 602 adult participants aged 25–74 years in four baseline surveys
conducted between 1984 and 2001 in the Region of Augsburg, Germany.It
includes up to 40 years of active follow-up for the initial
participants and is ongoing to date. In 2021, of the initial 17 602
participants, 6493 participants were deceased and 2000 participants were
lost to follow-up.Besides
morbidity and mortality follow-ups, repeated follow-up examinations were
conducted in subpopulations with questionnaire-based risk factor and
socio-economic assessments. Genetic and molecular phenotyping
contributed to identifying the underlying genomic, epigenomic,
transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic signatures of
non-communicable diseases. Furthermore, the study is enriched by
detailed environmental data at the place of residence and the
establishment of a unique air-pollution measurement station.Data and biosamples can be requested for research projects via the KORA.PASST use and access hub (https://helmholtz-muenchen.managed-otrs.com/external).