Diet, lifestyle and biological determinants of health and disease: the EPIC-Norfolk population study

随着人口老龄化，一项重大挑战是我们如何保持良好的健康和预防残疾，使老年人能够继续过充实的生活并作出积极贡献。要做到这一点，我们需要了解当人们变老时会发生什么，影响他们并导致残疾的主要疾病是什么，以及我们可以做些什么来预防疾病，促进晚年的健康和功能。EPIC-Norfolk是一项对25,639名年龄在40-79岁之间的男性和女性的研究，该研究于1993年开始，他们提供了关于生活方式，特别是饮食，体育活动，心理社会因素和健康的详细信息，并一直随访至今。我们已经了解了这些因素的微小差异是如何影响疾病风险和寿命的。我们希望继续跟踪这些年龄在55-94岁之间的人，看看他们的健康状况如何随时间变化。我们将能够研究那些患有心脏病、癌症、糖尿病、关节炎、肺部和肠道疾病以及帕金森病的人的特征。我们还将进行重新检查，测量身体、精神、视觉和听力功能，以确定哪些人老化良好，并将这些与早期的生活方式和生物指标联系起来。研究结果将为制定和测试干预措施提供信息，例如，改变身体活动或饮食模式，可能预防疾病并改善老年人的身体或精神功能。来自参与者血液样本的详细生物信息，包括基因图谱，也将帮助我们了解疾病的潜在生物学机制，这可能会导致新的治疗方法。这项工作将帮助我们了解健康老龄化所涉及的过程，并了解我们可以如何促进中老年生活的健康和福祉。

As the population ages, a major challenge is how we can maintain good health and prevent disability so older people can continue having fulfilling lives and making active contributions. To do this, we need to understand what happens when people age, what the major diseases are which affect them and which lead to disability and what we can do to prevent disease and promote good health and function in later life. EPIC-Norfolk is a study of 25,639 men and women aged 40-79 years when it started in 1993 who have contributed detailed information on lifestyle, particularly diet, physical activity, psychosocial factors, and health and who have been followed up to the present. We have already learnt much about how small differences in these factors can influence disease risk and longevity. We wish to continue to follow up this population now aged 55-94 years, to see how their health changes over time. We will be able to examine what characterises individuals who develop conditions such as heart disease, cancers, diabetes, arthritis, lung and bowel diseases and Parkinsons. We will also conduct re-examinations to measure physical, mental, visual and hearing function to identify those who are ageing well and relate these to earlier lifestyles and biological measures. Results will inform the development and testing of interventions, for example, changing physical activity or dietary patterns, that may prevent disease and improve physical or mental function in older people. The detailed biological information from blood samples available in the participants including genetic profiling willl also help us understand the underlying biological mechanisms of disease which may lead to new treatments. This work will help us understand the processes involved in healthy ageing and to understand what we can to promote health and well being in middle and later life.