April 15, 2005
In Sweden, healthy living is a science
In Sweden, a medical project called "Life Gene" aims to study what causes a wide range of "lifestyle" diseases - using technology such as text messaging to gather data.
In February 2005, Hans-Olov Adami, Hans-Olov Adami, head of Karolinska's Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Sweden, and his colleagues at Karolinska, unveiled an ambitious proposal for tracking relationships between lifestyle, genes and health from a global perspective. [via Sweden.SE].
Called "LifeGene," it would be the largest medical project since the mapping of the human genome – the DNA that contains our genes.
The idea is to gather data directly from participants using unobtrusive technologies such as text messaging, interactive TV, or even electronic pencils. "We would be able to pick up diseases that are transient, that are mild, that often do not lead that person to seek medical advice," says Adami. These diseases "account for an enormous fraction of the short term sicknesses in the working population, but which have never been studied before."
Scientists know very little about the risk factors that determine why some people get the flu while others do not, for example. LifeGene, a Swedish initiative, might well solve that riddle.
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2005/04/007949.htm
