A PROSPECTIVE CARDIOVASCULAR POPULATION STUDY USED IN GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY - THE COPENHAGEN CITY HEART-STUDY

Rapid advances in molecular biology will in the near future allow insi ght into which mutations are important for determining an individual's susceptibility to cardiovascular disease, as well as to other multifa ctorial diseases. Methods for diagnosing mutations are today easy to u se; however, strategies for determining the effect of a given mutation on phenotype, as well as on the susceptibility of carriers to disease , are less well established. In the present paper, we describe a DNA b ank, consisting of more than 10,000 individuals, which - for a given m utation - will allow us to determine its frequency in the general popu lation, the effect of the mutation on phenotype, and its influence on the development of cardiovascular as well as other diseases.