JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability both worldwide and in Australia and are associated with high use of health services. In Australia, more than 50% of people aged ≥45 years have at least one chronic disease, increasing to over 80% in people ≥65 years old. Current understanding of the prevalence, incidence and progression of chronic diseases is largely based on studies carried out in clinical populations. The EXamining OuTcomEs in chronic Disease in the 45 and Up Study (EXTEND45) Study is a large, linked population-based cohort study from Australia, which aims to establish a seminal chronic disease cohort that can be used to investigate a range of research questions relating to complex chronic diseases. The study will focus on the assessment of chronic diseases including diabetes, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Data from the Sax Institute’s 45 and Up Study, a large-scale population-based cohort study comprising >250,000 individuals aged ≥45 years living in the most populated state of New South Wales will be linked to multiple pathology and administrative datasets. Baseline data in the 45 and Up Study were collected between January 2006 and December 2009. Data from other datasets were obtained for individuals who could be linked to the dataset any time between January 2005 and July 2013. The inclusion of pathology data will enable the identification of early cases of chronic disease and assessment of clinically relevant biochemical targets during the disease course. Concurrent linkage to administrative datasets will allow examination of health service use and pharmacological management of people with chronic disease as well as their clinical outcomes. The EXTEND45 cohort represents an unparalleled opportunity to investigate a range of research questions relating to diseases of considerable public health and clinical importance. The strengths of the cohort include its population-based nature and its longitudinal information on the comprehensive disease pathway for people with diabetes, CKD and CVD.