The Semmelweis Study: a longitudinal occupational cohort study within the framework of the Semmelweis Caring University Model Program for supporting healthy aging

Zoltan Ungvari^#^{1

2

3}, Adam G Tabák^#^{4

5

6

7}, Roza Adany^#^{4

5

8}, György Purebl⁹, Csilla Kaposvári⁵, Vince Fazekas-Pongor⁵, Tamás Csípő^{4

5}, Zsófia Szarvas^{4

10

11

5}, Krisztián Horváth⁵, Peter Mukli^{4

10

5}, Piroska Balog⁹, Robert Bodizs⁹, Peter Ujma⁹, Adrienne Stauder⁹, Daniel W Belsky^{12

13}, Illés Kovács^{14

15

16}, Andriy Yabluchanskiy^{10

11}, Andrea B Maier^{17

18

19}, Mariann Moizs^{5

20}, Piroska Östlin²¹, Yongjie Yon²¹, Péter Varga^{5

22}, Zoltán Vokó²³, Magor Papp⁵, István Takács⁶, Barna Vásárhelyi²⁴, Péter Torzsa²⁵, Péter Ferdinandy²⁶, Anna Csiszar^{10

11}, Zoltán Benyó^{27

28}, Attila J Szabó^{29

30}, Gabriella Dörnyei³¹, Mika Kivimäki⁶, Miklos Kellermayer³², Bela Merkely³³

Affiliations

¹ International Training Program in Geroscience/Healthy Aging Program, Doctoral School of Basic and Translational Medicine/Department of Public Health, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. Zoltan-Ungvari@ouhsc.edu.
² Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Neurodegeneration and Healthy Brain Aging Program, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA. Zoltan-Ungvari@ouhsc.edu.
³ Department of Health Promotion Sciences, The Hudson College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA. Zoltan-Ungvari@ouhsc.edu.
⁴ International Training Program in Geroscience/Healthy Aging Program, Doctoral School of Basic and Translational Medicine/Department of Public Health, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
⁵ Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
⁶ UCL Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
⁷ Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary.
⁸ HUN-REN-UD Public Health Research Group, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
⁹ Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
¹⁰ Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Neurodegeneration and Healthy Brain Aging Program, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
¹¹ Department of Health Promotion Sciences, The Hudson College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
¹² Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
¹³ Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
¹⁵ Department of Ophthalmology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City, NY, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Clinical Ophthalmology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
¹⁷ Healthy Longevity Translational Research Program, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
¹⁸ Centre for Healthy Longevity, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
¹⁹ Department of Human Movement Sciences, @AgeAmsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁰ Ministry of Interior of Hungary, Budapest, Hungary.
²¹ WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark.
²² Clinical Center, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
²³ Center for Health Technology Assessment, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
²⁴ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
²⁵ Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
²⁶ Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
²⁷ Department of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
²⁸ HUN-REN-SU Cerebrovascular and Neurocognitive Diseases Research Group, Budapest, Hungary.
²⁹ First Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
³⁰ HUN-REN-SU Pediatrics and Nephrology Research Group, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
³¹ Department of Morphology and Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
³² Department of Biophysics and Radiation Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
³³ Heart and Vascular Center, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38060158
PMCID: PMC10828351
DOI: 10.1007/s11357-023-01018-7

Review

The Semmelweis Study: a longitudinal occupational cohort study within the framework of the Semmelweis Caring University Model Program for supporting healthy aging

Zoltan Ungvari et al. Geroscience. 2024 Feb.

. 2024 Feb;46(1):191-218.

doi: 10.1007/s11357-023-01018-7. Epub 2023 Dec 7.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ International Training Program in Geroscience/Healthy Aging Program, Doctoral School of Basic and Translational Medicine/Department of Public Health, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. Zoltan-Ungvari@ouhsc.edu.
² Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Neurodegeneration and Healthy Brain Aging Program, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA. Zoltan-Ungvari@ouhsc.edu.
³ Department of Health Promotion Sciences, The Hudson College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA. Zoltan-Ungvari@ouhsc.edu.
⁴ International Training Program in Geroscience/Healthy Aging Program, Doctoral School of Basic and Translational Medicine/Department of Public Health, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
⁵ Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
⁶ UCL Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
⁷ Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary.
⁸ HUN-REN-UD Public Health Research Group, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
⁹ Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
¹⁰ Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Neurodegeneration and Healthy Brain Aging Program, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
¹¹ Department of Health Promotion Sciences, The Hudson College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
¹² Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
¹³ Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
¹⁵ Department of Ophthalmology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City, NY, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Clinical Ophthalmology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
¹⁷ Healthy Longevity Translational Research Program, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
¹⁸ Centre for Healthy Longevity, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
¹⁹ Department of Human Movement Sciences, @AgeAmsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁰ Ministry of Interior of Hungary, Budapest, Hungary.
²¹ WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark.
²² Clinical Center, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
²³ Center for Health Technology Assessment, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
²⁴ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
²⁵ Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
²⁶ Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
²⁷ Department of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
²⁸ HUN-REN-SU Cerebrovascular and Neurocognitive Diseases Research Group, Budapest, Hungary.
²⁹ First Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
³⁰ HUN-REN-SU Pediatrics and Nephrology Research Group, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
³¹ Department of Morphology and Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
³² Department of Biophysics and Radiation Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
³³ Heart and Vascular Center, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38060158
PMCID: PMC10828351
DOI: 10.1007/s11357-023-01018-7

Abstract

The Semmelweis Study is a prospective occupational cohort study that seeks to enroll all employees of Semmelweis University (Budapest, Hungary) aged 25 years and older, with a population of 8866 people, 70.5% of whom are women. The study builds on the successful experiences of the Whitehall II study and aims to investigate the complex relationships between lifestyle, environmental, and occupational risk factors, and the development and progression of chronic age-associated diseases. An important goal of the Semmelweis Study is to identify groups of people who are aging unsuccessfully and therefore have an increased risk of developing age-associated diseases. To achieve this, the study takes a multidisciplinary approach, collecting economic, social, psychological, cognitive, health, and biological data. The Semmelweis Study comprises a baseline data collection with open healthcare data linkage, followed by repeated data collection waves every 5 years. Data are collected through computer-assisted self-completed questionnaires, followed by a physical health examination, physiological measurements, and the assessment of biomarkers. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the Semmelweis Study, including its origin, context, objectives, design, relevance, and expected contributions.

Keywords: Age-associated diseases; Biological age; Central Europe; Epidemiology; Health Promoting University; Healthy aging; Workplace cohort.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Roza Adany, Dr. Adam Tabak, Dr. Anna Csiszar and Dr. Andriy Yabluchanskiy serve as Associate Editors for GeroScience. Dr. Zoltan Ungvari serves as Editor-in-Chief for GeroScience.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Age distribution of the target sample, the employees of Semmelweis University. Aggregated data were provided by the Semmelweis University HR Department

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Eurostat. Ageing Europe. Looking at the lives of older people in the EU. 2020 edition. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/11478057/KS-02-20-655-EN... (accessed on 05/16/2021).
1. Eurostat: aging Europe. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/digpub/ageing/ (accessed on 11/04/2022).
1. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. Health and well-being and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the WHO European Region: an analysis of policy development and implementation. In: Report of the first survey to assess Member States’ activities in relation to the WHO European Region Roadmap to Implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Copenhagen; 2021.
1. Hungarian Central Statistics Office. STADAT tables 22.1.1.4. https://www.ksh.hu/stadat_files/nep/hu/nep0004.html (accessed on 05/05/2022).
1. European Commission. The 2015 aging report: underlying assumptions and projection methodologies. Eur Econ. 2014;8. https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/european_economy/2014/.... Accessed 05 May 2022.

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The Semmelweis Study: a longitudinal occupational cohort study within the framework of the Semmelweis Caring University Model Program for supporting healthy aging

Affiliations

The Semmelweis Study: a longitudinal occupational cohort study within the framework of the Semmelweis Caring University Model Program for supporting healthy aging

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources