Representativeness of the LifeLines Cohort Study.

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Population Health
• Biostatistics

Background:

• LifeLines is a large, prospective, three-generation cohort study in the north of the Netherlands.
• Recruitment involved general practitioners, family members, and online self-registration.
• Investigated the representativeness of the adult study population at baseline.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the representativeness of the LifeLines adult study population.
• To evaluate differences in the study population based on recruitment strategy.

Main Methods:

• Compared demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, and health characteristics of LifeLines participants with the general population in the north of the Netherlands.
• Utilized data from the Dutch population register and the Permanent Survey of Living Conditions.
• Assessed differences across three distinct recruitment strategies.

Main Results:

• LifeLines participants were more often female, middle-aged, married, and Dutch native compared to the general population.
• Adjusted analyses showed lower proportions of low educational attainment and ever-smokers in LifeLines.
• Differences in chronic disease prevalence and general health scores were generally small (<3%).
• Age profiles differed between recruitment groups due to inclusion criteria; other strategy-related differences were minor.

Conclusions:

• The LifeLines adult study population is broadly representative of the adult population in the north of the Netherlands after adjusting for demographic composition.
• Recruitment strategy had a minimal influence on the study's representativeness.
• Low risk of selection bias suggests LifeLines' findings are generalizable to the wider population.