Hamburg City Health Study - a German Cohort Study

Official title

A Single Center, Prospective, Epidemiologic Cohort Study With Emphasis on Imaging to Improve the Identification of Individuals at Risk for Major Chronic Diseases and to Improve Early Diagnosis and Survival

Overview

The Hamburg City Health Study (HCHS) is a large, prospective, long-term, population-based cohort study and a unique research platform and network to obtain substantial knowledge about several risk and prognostic factors in major chronic diseases.

Detailed description

A random sample of 45.000 participants between 45 and 74 years of age from the general population of Hamburg, Germany, will take part in an extensive baseline assessment at a dedicated study center. Participants undergo 13 validated and 5 novel examinations primarily targeting cardiac, arterio-venous and cerebral function and structure including extensive imaging examinations. The protocol includes self-ratings of life style and environmental conditions, , dietary habits, physical activity, professional life, psychosocial context, , digital media use, medical and family history as well as health care utilization patterns. The assessment is completed by genomic and proteomic characterization. Beyond the identification of classical risk factors for major chronic diseases and survivorship, the core intention is to develop complex models predicting health outcomes based on a multitude of examination data, imaging data and behavioral assessments. Participants at risk for coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, stroke and dementia will be invited for a visit to conduct additional MRI examination either of heart or brain. Endpoint assessment of the overall sample will be completed through repeated follow-up examinations and data from involved health and pension insurances.

Primary outcome measures

• self-reported Information on changes in health in the participants [Time frame: yearly up to 12 years]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Inhabitant of the city of Hamburg at the time of inclusion into the study (Inclusion is time of written consent)
• Age 45 to 74 years
• Personally signed informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Insufficient knowledge of the German language, in order to understand study documents and computer assisted interview without translation
• Physical or psychological incapability to travel to the study center and to cooperate in the investigations

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Study design

Observational model

Cohort

Study locations

Germany · 1 center

• Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf — Hamburg

Publications

• Koch LR, Becker S, Bosnjak A, Biedermann M, Jadidi AS, Westermann D, Lehrmann H, Loewe A, Arentz T, Schell M, Thomalla G, Engler D, Schnabel RB, Eichenlaub M. Amplified P-wave duration predicts incident atrial fibrillation in the general population: Results from the Hamburg City Health Study. Heart Rhythm O2. 2026 Apr 2;7(7):1242-1249. doi: 10.1016/j.hroo.2026.03.033. eCollection 2026 Jul. PMID 42488147
• Schmidt-Lauber C, Ebinghaus M, Borof K, Lieske B, Klopp A, Thompson C, Wees L, Dawood Z, Heydecke G, Beikler T, Huber TB, Aarabi G. Association of periodontitis with reduced kidney function and albuminuria in early chronic kidney disease: a population-based study. Int J Oral Sci. 2026 Apr 6;18(1):33. doi: 10.1038/s41368-026-00435-6. PMID 41936582
• Jessen B, Lowe B, Twerenbold R, Harter M, Harth V, Hoven H, Schmidt-Lauber C, Huber TB, Shedden-Mora M. Biopsychosocial Correlates of Somatic Symptom Burden in CKD: Results of the Hamburg City Health Study. Kidney360. 2026 May 1;7(5):1065-1075. doi: 10.34067/KID.0000001130. Epub 2026 Jan 30. PMID 41615722
• Jensen M, Vettorazzi E, Weber P, Petersen M, Schell M, Nagele FL, Link MA, Schlemm E, Rimmele DL, Becher PM, Cheng B, Blankenberg S, Kirchhof P, Zeller T, Twerenbold R, Thomalla G. Association of Cardiac Biomarkers With Structural Brain Changes and Cognitive Impairment: Results From the Hamburg City Health Study. Neurology. 2025 Aug 12;105(3):e213865. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000213865. Epub 2025 J PMID 40609062
• Riccio C, Arnold N, Koliopanos G, Link V, Guo L, Betschart RO, Zeller T, Blankenberg S, Ziegler A, Twerenbold R. Familial Hypercholesterolemia: Prevalence and Discrepancy between Genotype and Phenotype. Findings of the Population-based Hamburg City Health Study. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2025 Sep 19;122(19):511-516. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.m2025.0110. PMID 40560421
• Wenzel JP, Albrecht JN, Toprak B, Petersen E, Nikorowitsch J, Cavus E, Jahnke C, Riedl KA, Adam G, Twerenbold R, Blankenberg S, Kirchhof P, Lund G, Tahir E, Mullerleile K, Radunski UK. Head-to-head comparison of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and transthoracic echocardiography in the general population (MATCH). Clin Res Cardiol. 2025 May 12. doi: 10.1007/s00392-025-02660-1. Online ahead of pri PMID 40353872
• Rimmele DL, Petersen EL, Affolderbach S, Petersen M, Cheng B, Mayer C, Nagele FL, Harth V, Terschuren C, Kuhn S, Zeller T, Gerloff C, Thomalla G. Differences in impact of current and former shift work on cardiovascular risk factors, carotid atherosclerosis, and white matter integrity. Sleep Adv. 2024 Jul 31;5(1):zpae056. doi: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpae056. eCollection 2024. PMID 39156216
• Cavus E, Schneider JN, di Carluccio E, Ziegler A, Haack A, Ojeda F, Chevalier C, Jahnke C, Riedl KA, Radunski UK, Twerenbold R, Kirchhof P, Blankenberg S, Adam G, Tahir E, Lund GK, Muellerleile K. Unrecognized myocardial scar by late-gadolinium-enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance: Insights from the population-based Hamburg City Health Study. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson. 2024 Summer;26(1):101 PMID 38341145

Identifiers

NCT: NCT03934957 · PV5131

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗