The Rhineland Study

The Rhineland Study is a prospective cohort study, which began in March 2016. It will include up to 30,000 participants from Bonn and asses their physical and mental health over their lifespan. The study is scheduled to run for decades and participants will be re-examined every 3-4 years.

As neurodegenerative diseases and their pathologies develop over a long time before first symptoms start to show, the Rhineland Study will include men and women aged 30 years and above regardless of their health status.
The main aims of the study are:

1. To investigate modifiable and non-modifiable causes of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases
2. To find biomarkers/(multimodal) biomarker profiles to identify individuals at risk for neurodegenerative or neuropsychiatric disease, who might benefit from preventive interventions
3. To investigate (patho)physiology over the adult life course, with specific emphasis on brain-related outcomes.

Last Update 21/09/2017

Types General population-based cohort
Participant Types No diagnosis
Countries Germany
Genders Male and Female
Sample sizes 10,000 to 19,999
Ages 20 to 39|40 to 59|60 to 100
Brain related measures Behaviour|Cognitive function|Mental health|Neurological
Funtional rating Individual physiological|Individual psychological
Anthropometric Blood pressure|Height|Hip circumference|Waist circumference|Weight
Physical Cardiovascular|Hearing and Vision|Reproductive
Biological samples Blood|Microbiome|Other|Urine
Genotyping Gene screening
Brain imaging Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Brain banking
Lifestyle Alcohol|Dietary habits|Physical activity|Smoking
Socio-economic Education|Ethnic group|Family circumstances|Housing and accommodation|Income and finances|Informal support|Marital status|Occupation and employment|Unpaid care
Health service utilisation
Institute names The German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
Current Sample Sizes 10,000 to 19,999

age at recruitment >30
last updated
recruitment period 2016 – Present
estimated current sample size number value 1000
cohort acronym
start date 2016 – Present
pi Prof. Dr. Monique M. B. Breteler
website www.rheinland-studie.de; https://www.dzne.de/en/science-society/rheinland-studie.html
contact details German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
Sigmund-Freud-Str. 27
53127 Bonn
abstract  The Rhineland Study is a prospective cohort study aimed at finding the causes of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. It began in March 2016 and plans to recruit up to 30,000 over 30 year olds.
funders  Long term institutional core funding
contact email PI Email: [email protected]
contact phone number Tel: +49 (0) 228 / 43302-929
estimated current sample size 10,000 to 19,999
sample sizes 30000