Study research protocol for Phenome India-CSIR Health Cohort Knowledgebase: A prospective multi-modal follow-up study on a nationwide employee cohort

Abstract

Predicting individual health trajectories based on risk scores can help formulate effective preventive strategies for diseases and their complications. Currently, most risk prediction algorithms rely on epidemiological data from the Caucasian population, which often do not translate well to the Indian population due to ethnic diversity, differing dietary and lifestyle habits, and unique risk profiles. In this multi-center prospective longitudinal study conducted across India, we aim to address these challenges by developing clinically relevant risk prediction scores for cardio-metabolic diseases specifically tailored to the Indian population. India, which accounts for nearly 18% of the global population, also has a significant diaspora worldwide. This program targets longitudinal collection and bio-banking of samples from over 10 000 employees both working and retirees of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and their spouses, with baseline sample collection already completed. During the baseline collection, we gathered multi-parametric data including clinical questionnaires, lifestyle and dietary habits, anthropometric parameters, lung function assessments, liver elastography by Fibroscan, electrocardiogram readings, biochemical data, and molecular assays, including but not limited to genomics, plasma proteomics, metabolomics, and fecal microbiome analysis. In addition to exploring associations between these parameters and their cardio-metabolic outcomes, we plan to employ artificial intelligence algorithms to develop predictive models for phenotypic conditions. This study could pave the way for precision medicine tailored to the Indian population, particularly for the middleincome strata, and help refine the normative values for health and disease indicators in India.