South Yorkshire Cohort: a 'cohort trials facility' study of health and weight - Protocol for the recruitment phase

Abstract

BackgroundGrowing levels of both obesity and chronic disease in the general population pose a major public health problem. In the UK, an innovative 'health and weight' cohort trials facility, the 'South Yorkshire Cohort', is being built in order to provide robust evidence to inform policy, commissioning and clinical decisions in this field. This protocol reports the design of the facility and outlines the recruitment phase methods.Method/DesignThe South Yorkshire Cohort health and weight study uses the cohort multiple randomised controlled trial design. This design recruits a large observational cohort of patients with the condition(s) of interest which then provides a facility for multiple randomised controlled trials (with large representative samples of participants, long term outcomes as standard, increased comparability between each trial conducted within the cohort and increased efficiency particularly for trials of expensive interventions) as well as ongoing information as to the natural history of the condition and treatment as usual.This study aims to recruit 20,000 participants to the population based South Yorkshire Cohort health and weight research trials facility. Participants are recruited by invitation letters from their General Practitioners. Data is collected using postal and/or online patient self completed Health Questionnaires. NHS numbers will be used to facilitate record linkage and access to routine data. Participants are eligible if they are: aged 16 - 85 years, registered with one of 40 practices in South Yorkshire, provide consent for further contact from the researchers and to have their information used to look at the benefit of health treatments. The first wave of data is being collected during 2010/12 and further waves are planned at 2 - 5 year intervals for the planned 20 year duration of the facility.DiscussionThe South Yorkshire Cohort combines the strengths of the standard observational, longitudinal cohort study design with a population based cohort facility for multiple randomised controlled trials in a range of long term health and weight related conditions (including obesity). This infrastructure will allow the rapid and cheap identification and recruitment of patients, and facilitate the provision of robust evidence to inform the management and self-management of health and weight.

The impact of ADHD on the health and well-being of ADHD children and their siblings

“…This offered a large sample of 10–15 year olds, although only some of the instruments used in the current study are available in this dataset. A second control group of families was recruited from the South Yorkshire Cohort (SYC)2 [30], which enlisted 18,000 patients via GP practices across South Yorkshire. A sample of families from this cohort were sent a request to participate in our study and those who responded positively were sent the full set of questionnaires.…”

Association between body mass index and health-related quality of life, and the impact of self-reported long-term conditions – cross-sectional study from the south Yorkshire cohort dataset

“…A copy of the questionnaire is available online [16]. The study uses data from the participants who filled-in the consent form as agreeing for their information to be used for research purposes.…”

“…The methods employed for the SYC study have been previously described in depth [16]. It employs a two-stage sampling method, first recruiting general practitioners and then individuals aged between 16 and 85 years registered with these practices.…”

“…The South Yorkshire Cohort (SYC) study [16], is a large observational study which uses a cohort multiple randomised controlled trial design [17]. It collects data on a range of socio-demographics, socio-economics, comorbidities, health resource use and HRQoL and provides an opportunity to study the impact of a wide range of factors that may confound or mediate any assessments of the association between BMI and HRQoL.…”

Deprivation, clubs and drugs: results of a UK regional population-based cross-sectional study of weight management strategies

“…Participants were recruited to the South Yorkshire Cohort [9] using a two stage sampling method between June 2010 and December 2012. The first stage involved recruiting General Practices (GPs) to take part in the study (n = 43).…”