HUNT Research Centre

HUNT Bio- and Databank is a fully established Norwegian-population-based prospective health survey and biobank. The HUNT Databank comprises more than 5,500 data variables, medical records, clinical measurements, environmental exposures, and biological samples collected through 30 years in three phases from a regional cohort of 130,000 individuals.

The HUNT Study is one of the largest and most comprehensive population-based health studies ever performed. By international standards, the participation rates have been astonishingly high — over 85% Thus, unlike many other biobanks, the HUNT Databank gives a truly representative picture of a general population. Entirely voluntary and approved by ethical authorities, the potential benefits for medical research of such a cohort is obvious – and indeed has already generated more than 700 peer reviewed scientific papers and 67 PhDs.

HUNT provides unique integrated information based on the following resources:

  • Quality tested DNA from more than 80,000 individuals
  • More than 1,000,000 aliquotes of serum and plasma
  • 35,000 samples dedicated to environmental studies
  • More than 20,000 GWAS and miRNA profiles

The samples are stored in an ultra-modern fully automated purpose-built centre in mid-Norway that is seen as a model worldwide for good biobanking practice.

Along with high-quality biological samples, a key strength of the HUNT Study is the mass of accompanying phenotypic data:

  • Precise information on health status from regular medical check‐ups and extensive lifestyle data from comprehensive questionnaires
  • Cross linkage to local clinical endpoints and comprehensive national registries, such as the medical birth registry, cause of death registry, prescription registry and cancer registry
  • Validated clinical endpoint registries on myocardial infarction, venous thromboembolism, stroke and fractures

Our material is also tested for use in developing diagnostic and prognostic tests in cancer and other diseases. The miRNA analytical quality is validated using our stored serum samples. In addition, we have considerable resources in:

  • Epigenetic information from HUNT includes more than 800 environmental exposure variables
  • Prospective information based on 25 years of repeated screening surveys on the same population

As interest in population biobanks has grown over the last 10 years, the HUNT Study has attracted major interest from both academic researchers and, increasingly, the biopharma industry. In response to this, HUNT Biosciences was formed in 2007 as the commercial arm of the HUNT Databank.

Because it is based on a genuine general-population cohort, the HUNT Databank is able to provide data on a wide range of disease states. The main emphasis has been on major disease areas, such as:

To learn more about HUNT Research Centre, visit their web pages.