The Qatar Biobank: background and methods

Abstract

BackgroundThe Qatar Biobank aims to collect extensive lifestyle, clinical, and biological information from up to 60,000 men and women Qatari nationals and long-term residents (individuals living in the country for ≥15 years) aged ≥18 years (approximately one-fifth of all Qatari citizens), to follow up these same individuals over the long term to record any subsequent disease, and hence to study the causes and progression of disease, and disease burden, in the Qatari population.MethodsBetween the 11th-December-2012 and 20th-February-2014, 1209 participants were recruited into the pilot study of the Qatar Biobank. At recruitment, extensive phenotype information was collected from each participant, including information/measurements of socio-demographic factors, prevalent health conditions, diet, lifestyle, anthropometry, body composition, bone health, cognitive function, grip strength, retinal imaging, total body dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and measurements of cardiovascular and respiratory function. Blood, urine, and saliva were collected and stored for future research use. A panel of 66 clinical biomarkers was routinely measured on fresh blood samples in all participants. Rates of recruitment are to be progressively increased in the coming period and the recruitment base widened to achieve a cohort of consented individuals broadly representative of the eligible Qatari population. In addition, it is planned to add additional measures in sub-samples of the cohort, including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain, heart and abdomen.ResultsThe mean time for collection of the extensive phenotypic information and biological samples from each participant at the baseline recruitment visit was 179 min. The 1209 pilot study participants (506 men and 703 women) were aged between 28–80 years (median 39 years); 899 (74.4 %) were Qatari nationals and 310 (25.6 %) were long-term residents. Approximately two-thirds of pilot participants were educated to graduate level or above.ConclusionsThe pilot has proven that recruitment of volunteers into the Qatar Biobank project with intensive baseline measurements of behavioural, physical, and clinical characteristics is well accepted and logistically feasible. Qatar Biobank will provide a powerful resource to investigate the major determinants of ill-health and well-being in Qatar, providing valuable insights into the current and future public health burden that faces the country.

Serum Magnesium and Cognitive Function Among Qatari Adults

“…These subjects were followed up for every 5 years. The details of the study design were published elsewhere (Al Kuwari et al, 2015).…”

The emerging landscape of health research based on biobanks linked to electronic health records: Existing resources, statistical challenges, and potential opportunities

“…Population‐based biobanks recruit directly from the general population (eg, China Kadoorie Biobank), and subjects are eligible for enrollment irrespective of their disease status or healthcare utilization. Estonia, Denmark, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, China, the Republic of Korea, Qatar, and Taiwan are some of the countries that have invested in establishing population‐based (or reasonably representative) biobanks. Their sampling strategy may include active recruitment for particular subpopulations; for example, BioBank Japan recruits patients with particular current or past disease status, and the NIH All of Us program's recruitment strategy targets underrepresented minorities.…”

Qatar Biobank: A Paradigm of Translating Biobank Science into Evidence-Based Health Care Interventions

“…The QBB biorepository holds more than two million biological samples (blood, saliva, urine, and derives) and the data repository covers most of the molecular profiles of the participants providing data on genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and epigenomics with deep phenotypic profile and imaging data (MRI, carotid ultrasound, bone density through iDexa, and retina scan). 5,6 QBB achieved the main goal to enroll a sufficient number of participants (>30% of the targeted population) and implemented a coordinated operational plan dedicated to bring together multidisciplinary stakeholders promoting biobank-dependent research to cultivate evidence-based health care interventions. The QBB operational plan ( Fig.…”

“…The toward the discovery and development of novel health care interventions, specifically in the field of precision medicine. 5,6 QBB is a research enterprise platform across Qatar, acting as the National Repository Centre for biological samples and health information records and making them available to the research community in Qatar and worldwide.…”