The German National Cohort (NAKO Gesundheitsstudie) is Germany’s largest long-term population study. With data collected from 200,000 participants, NAKO aims to investigate the causes and risk factors of common diseases. By incorporating diverse health-related data, the study provides a valuable resource for epidemiological and biomedical research.
NAKO collects a wide range of health information, including lifestyle factors, environmental exposures, genetic data, and clinical parameters. Participants undergo extensive medical examinations, and follow-up studies allow researchers to analyse health trajectories over time. The goal is to improve disease prevention, early detection, and treatment strategies by identifying underlying biological and environmental factors contributing to major diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
As NAKO expands to include omics data, GHGA plays a key role in the secure storing and management of this sensitive information. By integrating NAKO’s large population-based genetic dataset into its infrastructure, GHGA ensures that these data can be accessed and reused for research while maintaining strict ethical, legal, and security standards.
In addition to secure data storage, GHGA will support NAKO to develop a secure processing environment tailored to NAKO’s requirements. This environment will enable researchers to analyse sensitive omics data within a controlled and privacy-preserving framework, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards while facilitating cutting-edge biomedical research.