The Cohort of Swedish Men (COSM)
The Cohort of Swedish Men is a large population-based cohort of over 45,000 men in the counties of Västmanland and Örebro. All men born 1918-1952 who were residing in Västmanland and Örebro County in 1997 received an invitation to participate in this research study and a questionnaire to answer and return. The questionnaire included information about modifiable lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity, smoking, weight, use of dietary supplements, some prescribed drugs, alcohol intake in addition to some gender specific questions.
Approximately 48,000 men responded. Follow-ups were done during 2008/2009 and 2019. The study examine associations of environmental/modifiable risk factors with several cancer sites (e.g., prostate, colorectal and renal cell cancer), myocardial infarction, stroke, cataracts, as well as death causes. The study has a longitudinal design, and to complement the update on exposure data record linkages to the nationwide Cancer Register, the In-Patient Register, and the Cause of Death Register and Population Register are also done. The questionnaires used in the Cohort of Swedish men are the same as the ones that have been used in the Swedish Mammography Cohort (SMC).
A clinical examination of a subcohort of COSM living in Västerås was conducted between 2010 and 2019. Participants with urological cancer have been sampled at the urological clinic at the hospital in Örebro
since 2014. In 2014, researchers at Örebro University and Örebro Hospital started collecting blood samples (whole blood, plasma, and serum) from members of COSM with incident urological cancer (prostate, kidney, bladder, and penile cancer). Urine is additionally collected from prostate cancer patients. To date, samples from 232 prostate cancer cases have been collected.
For more detailed information please visit the SIMPLER website, https://www.simpler4health.se/w/sh/en/researchers/cohorts/cohort-of-swedish-men---cosm
For restrictions in data use see https://www.simpler4health.se/w/sh/en/researchers/rules-and-guidelines and https://www.simpler4health.se/w/sh/en/researchers/publication-policy.
Go to data source
https://www.simpler4health.se/w/sh/en/researchers/questionnaires
Documentation files
Documentation files
Citation and access
Citation and access
Data access level:
Creator/Principal investigator(s):
Research principal:
Data contains personal data:
Yes
Type of personal data:
health data
Code key exists:
Yes
Sensitive personal data:
Yes
Citation:
Method and outcome
Method and outcome
Population:
Men born 1918-1952 in Örebro and Västmanland counties.
Study design:
- Observational study
- Cohort study
Description of study design:
Longitudinal cohort study
Sampling procedure:
Description of sampling:
In 1997 all men who lived in Västmanland or Örebro County and were born 1918-1952 received an invitation by mail to participate in this research study together with a questionnaire to be answered and returned. Follow-ups have been performed approximately every tenth year starting in 2008. At the follow-up 2008/2009 the questionnaire was extended and separated into two questionnaires. An additional follow-up was done during 2019.
Time period(s) investigated:
Description of the response rate/participation rate:
COSM 1997: response rate 48%
COSM 2008 health: response rate 78%
COSM 2009 lifestyle: response rate 90%
COSM 2019 health: response rate 72%
COSM 2019 lifestyle: response rate 86%
Samples/material - Collected from scientific collection/biobank
Samples/material - Collected from scientific collection/biobank
Name:
Uppsala biobank/SIMPLER
Type(s) of sample:
DNA
Data collections - 7 collections
Data collections - 7 collections
Data collection - Self-administered questionnaire
Data collection - Self-administered questionnaire
Mode of collection:
Self-administered questionnaire
Time period(s) for data collection:
1997 - 1998-01-01
Sample size:
100303
Number of responses:
45906
Source of the data:
- Population group
Data collection - Self-administered questionnaire
Data collection - Self-administered questionnaire
Mode of collection:
Self-administered questionnaire
Time period(s) for data collection:
2008 - 2008
Sample size:
37861
Number of responses:
29503
Source of the data:
- Population group
Data collection - Self-administered questionnaire
Data collection - Self-administered questionnaire
Mode of collection:
Self-administered questionnaire
Time period(s) for data collection:
2009 - 2009
Sample size:
29068
Number of responses:
26156
Source of the data:
- Population group
Data collection
Data collection
Description of the mode of collection:
Clinical Subcohort Västerås.
Validated cognitive phone interview, a self-administeret food frequency questionnaire and a one-day food diary.
Health examination including measurement of weight, height, waist, hip, and blood pressure, and body composition measurement using a bio-electrical impedance scale. Samples of fasting blood, urine, faeces and adipose tissue were also collected at the health exam.
Time period(s) for data collection:
2010 - 2019
Number of responses:
4754
Source of the data:
- Population group
Data collection
Data collection
Description of the mode of collection:
Clinical Subcohort Örebro
Time period(s) for data collection:
2014 - 2014
Number of responses:
600
Source of the data:
- Population group
Data collection - Self-administered questionnaire
Data collection - Self-administered questionnaire
Mode of collection:
Self-administered questionnaire
Time period(s) for data collection:
2019-01-21 - 2019-06-30
Sample size:
26392
Number of responses:
18901
Data collection - Self-administered questionnaire
Data collection - Self-administered questionnaire
Mode of collection:
Self-administered questionnaire
Time period(s) for data collection:
2019-09-16 - 2019-12-31
Sample size:
18746
Number of responses:
16166
Source of the data:
- Population group
Geographic coverage
Geographic coverage
Geographic location:
Geographic description:
Örebro och Västmanland counties, Sweden.
Lowest geographic unit:
Municipality
Highest geographic unit:
Country
Administrative information
Administrative information
Responsible department/unit:
Department of Surgical Science
Ethical Review
Ethical Review
Reviewer:
- Uppsala Ethical Review Board
Registration number:
2018/262
Reviewer:
- Uppsala Ethical Review Board
Registration number:
2018/263
Topic and keywords
Topic and keywords
Swedish Standard Classification of Research Subjects 2025:
Keywords:
Relations
Relations
Related research data:
Publications
Publications
Link to publication list:
Citation:
Harris H, Håkansson N, Olofsson C, Julin B, Åkesson A, Wolk A. The Swedish Mammography Cohort and the Cohort of Swedish Men: Study design and characteristics of 2 population-based longitudinal cohorts. OA Epidemiology;1(2):16, 2013.
