The Lifelines COVID-19 Cohort: a questionnaire-based study to investigate COVID-19 infection and its health and societal impacts in a Dutch population-based cohort

Abstract

The COVID−19 pandemic has affected billions of people around the world not only through the infection itself but also through its wider impact on public health and daily life. To assess the effects of the pandemic, a team of researchers across a wide range of disciplines developed and implemented the Lifelines COVID−19 questionnaire, leading to the development of the Lifelines COVID−19 cohort. This cohort is recruited from participants of the Lifelines prospective population cohort and the Lifelines NEXT birth cohort, and participants were asked to fill out detailed questionnaires about their physical and mental health and experiences on a weekly basis starting in late March of 2020 and on a bi−weekly basis staring in June 2020. The Lifelines region covers the three Northern provinces of the Netherlands−Drenthe, Groningen and Friesland−which together account for about 10% of the Dutch population. To date, >70,000 people have responded to the questionnaires at least once, and the questionnaire program is still ongoing. Data collected by the questionnaires will be used to address four aspects of the outbreak: (1) how the COVID−19 pandemic developed in the three northern provinces of the Netherlands, (2) which environmental risk factors predict disease susceptibility and severity, (3) which genetic risk factors predict disease susceptibility and severity and (4) what are the psychological and societal impacts of the crisis.

Two-tiered SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion screening in the Netherlands and stability of nucleocapsid, spike protein domain 1 and neutralizing antibodies

“…For both LFAs, 6-7% of individuals failed to provide a follow-up serum sample for ELISA before August 15 (total n=97) ( Figure 1 ). The South of the Netherlands - in particular the province of North Brabant - was the center of the initial spread of infection during the first phase of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, mainly linked to travel to and from Northern Italy during the school holidays in the end of February 2020, followed by regional carnival celebrations [6] ( Supporting Figure S2 ). In line with this, the majority of all individuals tested was from North Brabant (4300/7241 individuals; 59,4%).…”

Seroprevalence and correlates of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies: Results from a population-based study in Bonn, Germany

“…Data on physical and mental health were collected through an extensive questionnaire addressing current demographic, living and socioeconomic conditions, co-morbidities, medication and substance use, as well as COVID-19 related symptoms. The questions were selected taking account of other ongoing and developing COVID-19 related studies (especially the various “COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative” cohorts, 22 particularly the Lifelines study 23 ; https://www.covid19hg.org), to facilitate future data harmonization, sharing and collaboration.…”

Two-tiered SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion screening in the Netherlands and stability of nucleocapsid, spike protein domain 1 and neutralizing antibodies

“…For both LFAs, 6–7% of individuals failed to provide a follow-up serum sample for ELISA before August 15 (total n = 97) ( Figure 2 ). The South of the Netherlands – in particular the province of North Brabant – was the centre of the initial spread of infection during the first phase of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, mainly linked to travel to and from Northern Italy during the school holidays in the end of February 2020, followed by regional carnival celebrations [ 6 ] ( Supporting Figure S2 ). In line with this, the majority of all individuals tested was from North Brabant (4300/7241 individuals; 59.4%).…”

“…In the Netherlands, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 started in the Southern provinces, likely exacerbated by regional carnival celebrations following travel to and from Northern Italy during the school holidays [ 6 , 7 ]. However, due to limited capacity at the time, RT-PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 was largely restricted to hospitalized patients with suspected COVID-19 and symptomatic individuals with moderate disease that had a recent travel history to high-risk areas, such as Northern Italy.…”