The Wynn Database - Metabolic Risk Factors and Mortality v1.0
Research type
Research Database
IRAS ID
252548
Contact name
Nick Oliver
Contact email
Research summary
The Wynn Database
REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SW/0031
Date of REC Opinion
12 Apr 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion
Data collection arrangements
Between 1965 and 2000, Professor Victor Wynn (1920-2006) preserved detailed electronic records of his research into risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. His particular focus was on 'metabolic' risk factors such as blood cholesterol and glucose concentrations and how these factors could become abnormal and increase risks of chronic disease. His work was undertaken first at St Mary's Hospital Medical School and then at the Wynn Institute in London, which later became part of Imperial College London. The data recorded by Professor Wynn has been preserved by the Section of Metabolic Medicine at Imperial College's Faculty of Medicine, currently under the holder of the Wynn Chair in Metabolic Medicine, Professor Nick Oliver. These data comprise almost 30,000 records of detailed metabolic information for over 14,000 individuals. Recently, these records have been subject to an in-depth audit and now constitute what may be a unique body of metabolic information, the Wynn Database. Subject to appropriate approvals, we hope to preserve these data as a resource for analyses of relationships between metabolic risk factors and, ultimately, their relationships to age and cause of death.
Research programme
Detailed information about individuals can be highly informative about how long they may live and what they might die of. So-called 'risk-factors' can be identified in this way, which can focus attention on possible causes of disease and ways of preventing disease – particularly chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer. However, obtaining the most informative data can be difficult and expensive. The Wynn Database is, we believe, a unique repository of exceptionally informative data that particularly concerns how the body manages cholesterol and how well it can maintain normal glucose levels. The 'metabolic' risk factors with which these processes can be measured can be investigated and analysed for possible relationships with future health, in particular, how long a person lives and what they die of. Measurements made long before a person dies may be especially informative and, containing as it does, measurements made between 1965 and 2000, the Wynn Database is potentially exceptionally valuable in this respect. Subject to appropriate approvals, we intend to collect information on the ages and causes of death in individuals represented in the Wynn Database and explore relationships between measurements made decades before death and ages and causes of death.
Research database title
The Wynn Database
Establishment organisation
Imperial College London
Establishment organisation address
Faculty of Medicine
South Kensington
London, UK
SW7 2AZ