The Danish Centre for Strategic Research in Type 2 Diabetes (DD2) Project Cohort and Biobank from 2010 Through 2023—A Cohort Profile Update
F. Kristensen, Sia Kromann Nicolaisen, Jens Steen Nielsen, Diana Hedevang Christensen, Kurt Højlund, Henning Beck‐Nielsen, Jørgen Rungby, Søren Friborg, Ivan Brandslund, Jens Sandahl Christiansen, Peter Vestergaard, Niels Jessen, Michael Hecht Olsen, Mette K. Andersen, Torben Hansen, Charlotte Brøns, Allan Vaag, Reimar W. Thomsen, Henrik Toft Sørensen
Abstract
Purpose: This paper provides an overview of the Danish Centre for Strategic Research in Type 2 Diabetes (DD2) cohort and biobank, including baseline characteristics of participants enrolled up to 2023, and post-enrollment rates of cardiovascular disease outcomes and mortality. Methods: Since 2010, the DD2 project has enrolled individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) recently diagnosed by general practitioners and by hospital-based clinicians across Denmark. Data from questionnaires, clinical examinations, and biological samples are collected at enrollment. Additional baseline and longitudinal follow-up data are accessed via linkage to health registries. Results: for men. 18.3% were smokers, 5.7% consumed more than 14/21 units of alcohol weekly (women/men), and 17.9% reported leisure-time physical inactivity. Original midwife records dating back >80 years revealed that 20.2% of cohort participants had birth weights <3000 g. Based on complete hospital contact history 10 years before enrollment, 20.7% of cohort participants had macrovascular complications, 17.0% had microvascular complications, and 21.7% had kidney disease based on eGFR or urine albumin-creatinine measurements. At enrollment, statins were used by 68.2%, antihypertensive drugs by 69.9%, and glucose-lowering drugs by 86.5% of individuals. Median HbA1c was 48 mmol/mol and median LDL cholesterol 2.2 mmol/L. Genome-wide genotyping and biomarker data have been analyzed for over 9000 individuals. During the current follow-up time from the enrollment date (median 7.9 years), incident cardiovascular disease rate has been 13.8 per 1000 person-years and the mortality rate has been 17.6 per 1000 person-years. Conclusion: The DD2 cohort, with its detailed information and long-term follow up, can improve our understanding of the progression and prevention of complications among individuals with newly diagnosed T2DM.