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Updated: May 2, 2026

Methodology for Establishing a Community-Wide Life Laboratory for Capturing Unobtrusive and Continuous Remote Activity and Health Data
Published on: July 27, 2018
Cohort Profile: Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)
Maria Inês Schmidt1, Bruce B Duncan2, José Geraldo Mill2
1Faculdade de Medicina and Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Brazil, Faculdade de Medicina and Hospital Universitário, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil and Programa de Computação Científica-FIOCRUZ, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil maria.schmidt@ufrgs.br.
Abstract:
Chronic diseases are a global problem, yet information on their determinants is generally scant in low- and middle-income countries. The Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) aims to contribute relevant information regarding the development and progression of clinical and subclinical chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, in one such setting. At Visit 1, we enrolled 15 105 civil servants from predefined universities or research institutes. Baseline assessment (2008-10) included detailed interviews and measurements to assess social and biological determinants of health, as well as various clinical and subclinical conditions related to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mental health. A second visit of interviews and examinations is under way (2012-14) to enrich the assessment of cohort exposures and to detect initial incident events. Annual surveillance has been conducted since 2009 for the ascertainment of incident events. Biological samples (sera, plasma, urine and DNA) obtained at both visits have been placed in long-term storage. Baseline data are available for analyses, and collaboration via specific research proposals directed to study investigators is welcome.
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