Cohort profile: the Italian Network of Longitudinal Metropolitan Studies (IN-LiMeS), a multicentre cohort for socioeconomic inequalities in health monitoring

Abstract

PurposeThe Italian Network of Longitudinal Metropolitan Studies (IN-LiMeS) is a system of integrated data on health outcomes, demographic and socioeconomic information, and represents a powerful tool to study health inequalities.ParticipantsIN-LiMeS is a multicentre and multipurpose pool of metropolitan population cohorts enrolled in nine Italian cities: Turin, Venice, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Florence, Leghorn, Prato and Rome. Data come from record linkage of municipal population registries, the 2001 population census, mortality registers and hospital discharge archives. Depending on the source of enrolment, cohorts can be closed or open. The census-based closed cohort design includes subjects resident in any of the nine cities at the 2001 census day; 4 466 655 individuals were enrolled in 2001 in the nine closed cohorts. The open cohort design includes subjects resident in 2001 or subsequently registered by birth or immigration until the latest available follow-up (currently 31 December 2013). The open cohort design is available for Turin, Venice, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Prato and Rome. Detailed socioeconomic data are available for subjects enrolled in the census-based cohorts; information on demographic characteristics, education and citizenship is available from population registries.Findings to dateThe first IN-LiMeS application was the study of differentials in mortality between immigrants and Italians. Either using a closed cohort design (nine cities) or an open one (Turin and Reggio Emilia), individuals from high migration pressure countries generally showed a lower mortality risk. However, a certain heterogeneity between the nine cities was noted, especially among men, and an excess mortality risk was reported for some macroareas of origin and specific causes of death.Future plansWe are currently working on the linkage of the 2011 population census data, the expansion of geographical coverage and the implementation of the open design in all the participating cohorts.

Disparities in emergency department use between Italians and migrants residing in Rome, Italy: the Rome Dynamic Longitudinal Study from 2005 to 2015

“…The cohort is based on the Rome Municipal Register, which provides demographic information (sex, birthdate, birthplace, citizenship, date of registration in the Municipality of Rome and date of cancellation from the population register) for all who have been resident in Rome from 1st January 2001 to 31st December 2015 (4,143,462 records). See Caranci et al (2018) [ 61 ] for more detailed information on how the cohort was derived.…”

“…Time [55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64], and gender (males as reference category) are considered as confounders.…”

An Italian Network of Population-Based Birth Cohorts to Evaluate Social and Environmental Risk Factors on Pregnancy Outcomes: The LEAP Study

“…The Italian network of population-based birth cohorts stems from the larger Italian Network of Longitudinal Metropolitan Studies (IN-LiMeS), a multicentre set of metropolitan population cohorts enrolled in nine Italian cities, namely Turin, Venice, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Florence, Leghorn, Prato and Rome for monitoring socioeconomic inequalities in health [11]. The inclusion of Longitudinal Metropolitan Studies in the National Statistical Programme (NSP) complies with the national legislation on the processing of personal data for statistical and scientific research purposes, for each single longitudinal study (old and new releases of the NSP are available at https://www.sistan.it/index.php?id=52).…”

Potentially avoidable hospitalization for asthma in children and adolescents by migrant status: results from the Italian Network for Longitudinal Metropolitan Studies

“…This is a retrospective longitudinal study based on dynamic cohorts of residents in six cities participating in the IN-LiMeS [22][23][24]: Torino, Venezia, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, and Roma. Each cohort represents one city.…”

“…We have focused on children and adolescents because in this segment of the population asthma is the most common chronic disease [21]. To verify our hypothesis, we compared PAH for asthma among children and adolescents by migrant status during the period 2001-2014, using population-based cohort data from six cities in North and Central Italy included in the Italian Network of Longitudinal Metropolitan Studies (IN-LiMeS) [22][23][24]. Our objective is to examine whether immigrant children and adolescents living in Italy have higher rates of PAH for asthma compared to Italians.…”