VIKING II version 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
VIKING II - A cohort of volunteers with Northern Isles ancestry for identifying rare genetic variants influencing complex diseases
IRAS ID
254868
Contact name
James F Wilson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Not available until approval, Publication of the protocol in an open access journal is anticipated.; researchregistry5058, Research Registry DB www.researchregistry.com
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
VIKING II aims to find out what might cause common diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, lung disease, stroke and eye disease. These diseases influence quality of life and this study has the potential to help many people in future.
The chance of developing a common disease is affected by your environment and genes. Environmental influences include your diet, exercise, smoking and other lifestyle factors. Genetic influences are passed through the family and are ‘written’ in your DNA.Understanding the effect of genes could lead to better ways of preventing and treating diseases. In many populations, it can be difficult to investigate the part genes play, due to the variety of history, lifestyles and ethnic backgrounds. This makes it hard to figure out how genes affect the risk of conditions.
We plan to look for changes in genes influencing the risk of these diseases and others, by studying people over age 16 with at least two grandparents from Orkney or Shetland. Some of these gene changes may be found more frequently in people with Northern Isles ancestry, and some more rarely.
We aim to recruit 4,000 people, in addition to our previous successful recruitment of 2,080 people from Orkney (Orkney Complex Disease Study, ORCADES) and 2,105 people from Shetland (VIKING Health Study – Shetland), collectively called “VIKING”. We’ll also get consent to link to NHS records. This allows for long term health research.
We’ll invite volunteers to fill in an online questionnaire and give a saliva sample, using a kit that will be delivered to their home address. The questionnaire will take about one hour to complete. Providing the saliva sample will take a few minutes. The research will continue indefinitely, subject to continued funding. Those who take part may be re-contacted and invited to be involved in future research studies.
REC name
South East Scotland REC 01
REC reference
19/SS/0104
Date of REC Opinion
23 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion