The aim of the study is to spot illnesses earlier on and save the NHS money
(Picture: Alamy/PA)One of the world’s largest health research programmes is recruiting more than five million adults in the UK to create the most detailed picture ever of the nation’s health.
The programme is part-funded by the Government, industry and charities.
The goal, according to the programme's chairman Professor Sir John Bell, is to use the findings to fundamentally reorient healthcare systems towards earlier diagnosis and prevention.
He added: “People are being treated for diseases that they may have had for 20 or 30 years and which have then become symptomatic, and the whole healthcare system is tuned to reducing the impact of those symptoms for people at the late stage.
“But we know already that most diseases start many years before they become symptomatic, and it is during those initial periods that you really have the opportunity to make a difference.”
What does the Our Future Health study hope to achieve?
The project called Our Future Health will recruit 5 million or more people from all walks of life to share their health records.
The aim of the study is to find better ways to prevent, spot and treat illnesses such as cancer and dementia early on.
The scheme is expected to build on the success of research resources such as the UK Biobank to become the UK’s largest health research programme.
So far, the team behind the programme has nearly £80 million in government funding and about £150 million from industry to set up and deliver it.
Researchers say over time the project should save the NHS money by spotting illnesses early on.
“We see this as a 10- to 20-year project and if we don’t do this, the NHS and the healthcare system is going to collapse under the weight of late-stage disease,” Professor Bell said.
How will the Our Future Health project work?
Invitations will go out this autumn to more than three million people in London, West Yorkshire, West Midlands and Greater Manchester. The programme will eventually open to all UK adults.
Those behind it are keen to include volunteers who have previously been under-represented in scientific studies, such as those from black, Asian, and other ethnic backgrounds and people with lower incomes.
Volunteers will need to fill in questionnaires about their lifestyles, disclose any health problems and have blood tests for measurements such as blood sugar and cholesterol. They will also need to have their measurements taken, undergo genetic tests and consent to share their NHS records.
Scientists will collate and combine this information and store it so that people cannot be identified, building up a bank of health and genetic data.
Academic, commercial researchers and clinical teams from universities, companies and the NHS will then use it to help to discover new ways to diagnose and treat people.
