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Healthy Lives Malawi: Long-Term Conditions Cohort

Network / Nested Member Nested Malawi

Overview

About this cohort

Large-scale population-based study aiming to understand the burden and determinants of LTCs in rural and urban Malawi. It targets adolescents and adults aged 15 years and older, with recruitment ongoing across both rural and urban sites. Builds on prior NCD survey of 28,000 in same populations. Recruitment update: • Target population: 40,000 adolescents and adults (aged 15+ years) • Recruitment progress: To date, 32,064 participants have been recruited (21,803 from rural site and 10,261 from urban site) • Repeat measures for LTCs between 2013-2016 and 2021-2025: overlap ~ 10,000 individuals in the rural site, ~ 2,000 in urban site Data collected includes: • Sociodemographic characteristics • Lifestyle and behavioral factors • Medical history • Mental health: Depression, anxiety, alcohol use Physical measurements: • Anthropometry • Handgrip strength • Body composition Clinical measurements: • Blood pressure • Blood glucose Biological samples: • Blood samples collected from 21,418 individuals • Tests conducted on all samples: Glucose, full blood count • Samples stored for future analyses • Funding secured for genomic and metabolomic analyses on 20,000 participants Sub-sample data: Additional detailed information collected on: • Hepatitis B • Kidney disease • Objective measures of physical activity (accelerometry) • Lung function (spirometry) Nested work included real-time capture and clinical characterization (including ECG, Echo and carotid doppler) of cardiovascular events.

Cohort website

Profile information is generated from APCC cohort source data and may require custodian validation.

Key facts

At a glance

Countries
Malawi
Cohort type
Nested
Membership
Network / Nested Member
Cohort size
40,000
Year started
2021
Setting
Urban
Age group
15–199 years
Population coverage
To be confirmed
Lead institution
Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit
Data-sharing
Policy available

Population

Study population

Cohort size
40,000
Age group
15–199 years
Population coverage
To be confirmed
Setting
Urban
District / location
Karonga

Research

Research themes

Diabetes
Hypertension
Mental health

Governance

Institutions & funders

Lead institution(s)
Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit
Maintenance funders
Wellcome Trust
Custodian contact
Contact available through APCC Secretariat.

Data

Data access & sharing

View data-sharing information

Data access and sharing arrangements should be confirmed with APCC or the relevant cohort custodian before use.

Location

Location

Latitude-13.983
Longitude33.783

Coordinates are indicative, drawn from the supplementary dataset.

Outputs

Publications & research outputs

Future integration

Publication linkage is planned as part of future APCC research visibility integration. No publication list is displayed from this source package yet.

Data quality

Validation & readiness

Overview summary Available
Research themes Available
Lead institution Available
Data-sharing policy Available
Map coordinates Available
District / location Available
Custodian contact Via Secretariat

Custodian validation status: requires custodian validation.

Custodians & APCC representatives

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