biobank.cy: the Biobank of Cyprus past, present and future

The Cyprus Biobank collects biosamples, medical and lifestyle information with the aim of reaching 16,500 Cypriots aged ≥ 18-years, by year 2027, as part of a multitasked EU funded project. Volunteers are both from the general population and from disease cohorts of focused research projects, who amongst others will contribute to canvas the architecture of the Cyprus human genome and study the healthy and morbid anatomy of Cypriots. The Cyprus Biobank is a research infrastructure pillar of the biobank.cy Center of Excellence in Biobanking and Biomedical Research. Within 3-years (November 2019-October 2022), 1348 participants of the general population who represent a subset of the Cyprus Biobank recruited individuals, were enrolled in the pilot study. The study did not include individuals from separate disease-specific cohorts. Extensive information was collected from each participant, including biochemistry, complete blood count, physiological, anthropometric, socio-demographic, diet, and lifestyle characteristics. Prevalent health conditions along with medication use and family history were recorded, including 58 biomarkers based on blood and urine samples. With a systematic recruitment campaign, the Biobank is continuously increasing the number of individuals in the general population cohort and is developing separate disease cohorts of the Cypriot population. The pilot study enrolled 579 men and 769 women, aged between 18 and 85 years (median 48-years). The enrollment takes 40 min on average, including the collection of biological samples and phenotypic information. More than half (n = 733, 55%) of the participants are educated to college level or above. Statistically significant differences were found between men and women regarding their education level (p < 0.001), marital status (p = 0.01) and employment status (p < 0.001) but not their age (p = 0.29). The most prevalent medical conditions recorded are hypertension (17.2%), osteoporosis (6.9%) and diabetes (6.0%). In conclusion, the Cyprus biobanking pilot study has successfully collected extensive baseline information from enrolled participants. The Biobank will comprise a rich data resource used to examine the major risk factors leading to public health burdens and develop strategies for disease prevention.