Study of Health in Pomerania
The Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) is a population-based epidemiological project consisting of three independent cohorts (SHIP-START, SHIP-TREND, and SHIP-NEXT).
The SHIP project has two main objectives:
- to assess prevalence and incidence of common risk factors, subclinical disorders, and clinical diseases; and
- to investigate the complex associations among risk factors, subclinical disorders, clinical diseases, and the consequences of diseases.
A particular characteristic of SHIP is that it does not focus on a selected disease; it rather attempts to describe health-related conditions with the widest possible focus using highly innovative non-invasive methods. Important medical areas of research include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, liver and biliary tract diseases, neurological diseases, thyroid diseases, dental diseases, lung diseases, addiction, and risk behaviour.
- Start Year
- 1997
- Funding
- SHIP is part of the Community Medicine Research Network of the University Medicine Greifswald, supported by the German Federal State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. Previous and/or current data collection and analyses are funded by the following institutions: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research; German Federal Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer’s Safety; German Research Foundation; German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK); German Centre for Diabetes Research (DZD); German Asthma and COPD Network; European Commission (Horizon 2020 programme); Leibniz Society; Siemens AG, Health Care Sector (Erlangen, Germany); Beiersdorf AG (Hamburg, Germany); Data Input GmbH (Darmstadt, Germany); GABA International AG (Therwil, Switzerland); DETAX GmbH & Co. KG (Ettlingen, Germany); Mecklenburg-Vorpommersche Gesellschaft für Zahn-, Mund- und Kieferheilkunde an den Universitäten Greifswald und Rostock e. V.; Imedos Systems (Jena, Germany); Heinen & Löwenstein (Bad Ems, Germany); and InterSystems Corporation (Cambridge, MA, USA).
- Supplementary Information
-
The SHIP project can also be found in the Maelstrom Catalogue.
More details on the available imaging data for the SHIP project can be found in the euCanSHare Imaging Catalogue.
Visit SHIP
| Investigators | Contacts |
|---|---|
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Design
- Study design
- Cohort
- Follow Up
-
SHIP comprises three cohorts: SHIP-START, SHIP-TREND, and SHIP-NEXT.
In the SHIP-START cohort, five examination-waves have been completed, SHIP-START-0 (1997-2001), SHIP-START-1 (2002 -2006), SHIP-START-2 (2008-2012), SHIP-START-3 (2014-2016), and SHIP-START-4 (2019-2021). In addition there are specific data collections such as SHIP-LEGENDE on psychiatric diseases and life-events.
For the SHIP-TREND cohort, the baseline examination (2008-2012) and the first follow-up (2015-2019) have been completed.
The baseline examination of SHIP-NEXT started in 2021, and is expected to end in 2024/2025.
Marker Paper
Volzke H, Schossow J, Schmidt CO, et al. Cohort Profile Update: The Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP). Int J Epidemiol. 2022. doi:10.1093/ije/dyac034
PUBMED 35348705
Recruitment
- Sources of Recruitment
-
- Individuals
Number of participants
- Number of participants
- 8,728
- Number of participants with biosamples
- 8,728
- Supplementary Information
- N=8,728 refers to the sum of participants in the SHIP-START and SHIP-TREND cohorts, both of which are described in more detail below.
Access
Availability of data and biosamples
| Data | |
| Biosamples | |
| Other |
Availability of access information
On the study website : http://www2.medizin.uni-greifswald.de/cm/fv/shi...
Sector of research
| Data | Biosamples | |
|---|---|---|
| Investigators from the public sector | ||
| Investigators from the private sector | ||
| Investigators from not-for-profit organization |
Consent given by participants varies across sectors of research.
Transfer
| Data | Biosamples | |
|---|---|---|
| Can leave the study facility | ||
| Can leave the country |
Consent given by participants varies regarding international use of data.
Cost
| Data | No Cost |
| Biosamples | No Cost |
Cost reduction for co-analyses
| Data | |
| Biosamples |
We do not charge for the use of data and biomaterials from SHIP.
Supplementary Information
Formally, after registration at our transfer site, a data access proposal has to be made via the web form at the web-page. It is essential to have at least one collaboration partner at the University Medicine Greifswald for this. In case of questions please contact our transfer unit: https://www.fvcm.med.uni-greifswald.de/
Further information on how to access data and regulations is available online: https://www.fvcm.med.uni-greifswald.de/downloads.html
Timeline
Populations
A sample of men and women aged between 20 and 79 was drawn using a two-stage stratified and cluster sampling scheme. First, 32 communities in the region were selected. Second, a simple random sample was drawn from residence registries within the communities, stratified by gender and age.
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
-
20
- Maximum age
-
79
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- Germany
- Territory
-
Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern federal state)
- Ethnic Origin
-
- While not being an explicit selection criterion, the entire sample is Caucasian.
- Health Status
-
- There were no inclusion critera related to health status.
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- General population
- General Population
-
- Volunteer enrolment
- Selected sample
- Supplementary Information
-
Cluster stratified random sample
Number of participants
- Number of participants
- 4,308
- Number of participants with biosamples
- 4,308
- Supplementary Information
- The presented number of participants refers to the baseline examination.
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
SHIP-START-0
|
SHIP-START-0 examinations were conducted between the 16th of October 1997 and the 19th of May 2001. Examinations included a wide range of measurements, as detailed below. |
1997-10 | 2001-05 |
| 1 |
SHIP-START-1
|
The 5-year follow-up commenced on the 23rd of October 2002 and was completed on September 1st, 2006. Examinations included a wide range of measurements, as detailed below. |
2002-10 | 2006-09 |
| 2 |
SHIP-START-LEGENDE
|
The ‘Life-Events and Gene-Environment Interaction in Depression’ (LEGENDE) data collection targeted psychiatric conditions as well as positive and negative life events. | 2007-07 | 2010-10 |
| 3 |
SHIP-START-2
|
The 11-year follow-up commenced on June 25th, 2008 and was completed on September 27th, 2012. Examinations included a wide range of measurements, as detailed below.
|
2008-06 | 2012-09 |
| 4 |
SHIP-START-3
|
The third follow-up commenced in June 2014 and was completed on September 27th, 2016. Examinations included a wide range of measurements, as detailed below.
|
2014-02 | 2016-03 |
| 5 |
SHIP-START-4
|
The fourth follow-up commenced in May 2019 and was completed in September 2021. Examinations included a wide range of measurements, as detailed below.
|
2019-06 | 2021-04 |
A representative sample of men and women aged between 20 and 79 was drawn from the central population registry using a stratified random sampling scheme with age, sex, and county as strata. The SHIP-TREND population largely overlaps with the SHIP-START population, but participation in SHIP-START was an exclusion criterion.
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
-
20
- Maximum age
-
79
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- Germany
- Territory
-
Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern federal state), primary residence in the cities of Greifswald and Stralsund, or counties Ostvorpommern and Nordvorpommern.
- Ethnic Origin
-
- While not being an explicit selection criterion, the entire sample is Caucasian.
- Health Status
-
- There were no inclusion critera related to health status.
- Other criteria
- No previous participation in another SHIP cohort.
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- General population
- General Population
-
- Volunteer enrolment
- Selected sample
- Supplementary Information
-
Stratified random sample
Number of participants
- Number of participants
- 4,420
- Number of participants with biosamples
- 4,418
- Supplementary Information
- The presented number of participants refers to the baseline examination.
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
SHIP-TREND-0
|
The first examinations of this cohort commenced in September 2008 and were completed in September 2012. Examinations included four parts: medical examination, oral health examination, health- ... |
2008-09 | 2012-09 |
| 1 |
SHIP-TREND-1
|
The first examinations of SHIP-TREND-1 commenced in 2016 and were completed in 2019. Examinations included four parts: medical examination, oral health examination, health- interview and ... |
2016-03 | 2019-03 |
| 2 |
SHIP-TREND COVID Survey
|
This survey addressed COVID-19 infections and consequences of the pandemics related to life-style, social environment, job, and family. In addition, depressive symptoms, quality of life and ... | 2022-03 | 2022-07 |
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
-
20
- Maximum age
-
79
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- Germany
- Territory
- Western Pomerania (federal state: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), primary residence in the cities of Greifswald and Stralsund or counties Ostvorpommern and Nordvorpommern
- Ethnic Origin
-
- Health Status
-
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- General population
- General Population
-
- Volunteer enrolment
- Selected sample
Number of participants
- Number of participants
- 4,000
- Number of participants with biosamples
- 4,000
- Supplementary Information
- Data collection is ongoing. The target number of participants is 4000.
Data Collection Event
- Start Date
-
2021-05
- End Date
-
2024-05
- Data sources
-
- Questionnaires
- Physical measures
- Biosamples
- Data sources - Biosamples
-
- Hair
- Nail