Intergene - Living habits and health

INTERGENE is a research program at the Sahlgrenska Academy, Universty of Gothenburg. The study is a collaboration between Department of community medicine and public health and Department of acute and cardiovascular medicine, Institution of Medicine.The background is that in spite of increasing insight in risk factors predisposing for coronary artery disease and improved treatment of those affected, the incidence of coronary heart disease is still high, even in younger age groups. The total disease risk expresses interaction between the gene frequency in a population, their lifestyle and the environment. The genetic mechanism can be due to either the increase in the classic risk factors, increased vulnerability for these factors and/or other genetic factors affecting the development of coronary heart disease. Clinical data and data from questionnaires were collected in 2001-2004. The study is both a case-control study and a cross sectional study. The cases are consecutive patients with coronary heart disease, and consists of 623 patients from hospitals in Västra Götaland. The controls are their I-degree relatives, 400 individuals, and a random sample from the same population as the cases come from, 3614 healthy individuals aged 25-75. The participation frequency among the random sampled population cohort is about 43%. During 2014-2016 there was a re-examination of 1275 participants living in Gothenburg. The participation rate was 61%. Purpose: The aim is to study the INTERplay between GENEtical susceptibility, environmental factors including life-style and psychosocial background for the risk of cardiovascular diseases in south west Sweden.