7 December 2006

Scots family study logs 1000th volunteer

One of the largest health studies ever launched in Scotland has recruited its 1000th volunteer, all of them contributing to a project which could have a major impact on the nation’s health for generations to come.

Morag Houston (42), from Glenshee, and her mother Kathleen Davidson (64), from Glenisla, are the volunteers who have enabled the Scottish Family Health Study (SFHS), part of the wider Generation Scotland project, to pass the four-figure mark.

The aim of the research study is to recruit 50,000 people across Scotland, and particularly families. Researchers hope to be able to track the health of the volunteers over years, so they can understand more about why common diseases run in families and hopefully develop better forms of prevention and treatment.

Morag, who runs the Glenkilrie House B&B in Glenshee, was first made aware of the SFHS by her local GP and was keen to get involved.

"I received a letter from my GP inviting me to take part and I immediately thought it was something worthwhile to get involved with," said Morag.

"It was explained to me that they would also be looking for other members of my family to get involved, so my mum, two sisters and my brother have all joined in and we are working on the other people in the family to sign up."

"All we have had to do is come in for one health check, which is something I was keen on anyway, and for that we know we are also helping what seems to be a large piece of medical research, so I think it’s a good thing all round."

The Scottish Family Health Study is part of the Generation Scotland project, which is a unique venture which involves all five of Scotland's University medical schools and the NHS in Scotland.

Recruitment of volunteers started earlier this year with a pilot phase run in Tayside and Glasgow and has been progressing extremely well.

"We have had a tremendous response from people in Tayside," said Dr Cathy Jackson, of the University of Dundee, who is managing the project in Tayside.

"It has also been an immediately valuable exercise for some of the volunteers who have come in for their health check - we have picked up on several cases of diabetes and other conditions which people were not aware they had. They are immediately referred back to their own GP so that they can start receiving appropriate treatment."

The SFHS will track the health of families through generations - all done through completely anonymised data - and could have a huge impact on the medical, social and economic future of the nation.

"The knowledge we gain from this study might help our own generation in the future, but it is even more likely to have an effect on the lives of future generations." said Dr Jackson.

"This study is designed to run for at least 20 years, but volunteers will only have to make one visit to the researchers who can then, with the volunteer's permission, follow their health through their NHS records. I think of it as people investing a little of their own time in the health of our children and grandchildren."

Anyone over the age of 18 can volunteer for the study. Volunteers are asked to come to a study centre, be asked to fill in a questionnaire about their health and their lifestyle, have a mini health check, and be asked to donate a sample of blood from which the researchers can study their genetic make-up . All the information will be anonymised before storage for future research.

The mini-health check includes blood pressure and blood sugar and cholesterol measurements and this in itself has proved to be very useful for a number of volunteers already in helping them to change their lifestyle before they run into problems.

Anyone who would like further information or who would like to take part can visit the website at www.generationscotland.org or contact the study nurses on freephone number 0800 027 0466.

Professor Andrew Morris, of the University of Dundee and Chair of the Scientific Committee for Generation Scotland, said, "The people of Scotland have a tremendous track record of support for medical research. The main focus of Generation Scotland is on health and illness factors that are passed on in families. These inherited factors, or genes, influence our risk of being affected by a number of common causes of ill health, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, mental illness, obesity and stroke. We hope this study will help to unlock the secrets of Scots' health and bring real health benefits to those living with disease and to the next generation."

"There is good evidence that genes also influence how we respond to different medicines. The basic idea behind Generation Scotland is that by comparing the inherited factors in affected people and healthy people, researchers will be able to work out which genes contribute to our chances of becoming unwell, and what medicines we are most likely to respond best to."

NOTES TO EDITORS

Attached pic shows Morag Houston and mother Kathleen Davidson attending Ninewells Hospital for their health check.

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