Call for tender for project: Aid for health research and development projects 2022: Promotion of health research activity

Funding body: Department of Health, Basque Government

Record no.: 2022111058

PI: Iratxe Lafuente

Funding awarded: €5.808,00.

Description: This is a longitudinal study in which the same cohort of patients has been followed since 1990 at an international level, with Galdakao hospital being one of the 5 participating national centres. In this way, the evolution and appearance of various chronic respiratory diseases is assessed, associating them with environmental, nutritional, occupational or genetic factors and checking the effect on specific or general quality of life.

Objective: To investigate how general health, lifestyle factors, environmental factors and work environment factors affect lung function and risk of COPD, asthma and other chronic diseases in adults, based on an international longitudinal study over 20 years, a large sample size and also assessing multiple associated factors via clinical questionnaire and sampling tests to assess inflammatory, genetic or functional factors.

Study design: The next data collection is a follow-up of a cohort already established for research on risk factors for respiratory and other chronic diseases. The Basque cohort is part of the international multicentre ECRHS study.

Expected results: Improvement in the management and prevention of chronic respiratory diseases, responding to the need to optimise care in this group of chronic patients, whose poor control leads to high healthcare costs, poorer health outcomes and poorer perception of quality of life. Prevention in chronic diseases contributes to improving all of the above aspects in favour of their quality of life, decreasing both morbidity and mortality and contributing to healthier ageing. In short, improving health outcomes and optimising efficiency in care, thus contributing to improving the efficiency of the Basque health system, preserving its sustainability and quality.