The Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study re-examination: Rationale, design, methods, and management of incidental...

To describe the rationale, design and data collection procedures of the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) re-examination, which, in its further scope, aims to quantify and explain the development of atherosclerosis, pathological cardiovascular ageing, longitudinal decline in lung function and the malignant transformation of pulmonary nodules among middle-aged Swedes in the longitudinal SCAPIS.

SCAPIS re-examination is a prospective observational study reassessing approximately 15,000 participants (50% of the original SCAPIS cohort) from six university hospitals. Participants were aged 55-75 years at follow-up, occurring a median of 8.1 years after the baseline investigation. Standardized protocols replicated baseline imaging and functional assessments, including questionnaires, clinical assessments and extensive computer tomography imaging.

Interim analyses of the first 5000 participants (50% women; median age 65.5 [61.8-69.1] years) indicated an expected age-related increase in the prevalence and treatment of hypertension (from 22% to 37%) and diabetes (from 4% to 8%), together with a modest rise in central adiposity. Body mass index (median 26.6 kg/m²) and the proportion of obesity (22%) remained largely stable, whereas current smoking decreased from 7.5% to 3.4%. The observed patterns were consistent in men and women.

Here we present the rationale, design, methods and management of incidental findings in the SCAPIS re-examination. By integrating serial imaging, functional testing and biomarker profiling, the re-examination will furnish unprecedented insight into cardiopulmonary disease dynamics in an ageing population. These data will underpin personalized risk prediction and inform preventive strategies, while serving as a benchmark for future population-based imaging cohorts.