Brits urged to sign-up for world's biggest research project into health and disease

Everyone living in the UK has been invited to sign up for a world-leading research project which could give unprecedented insights into your health.

Some 1.9 million Brits have already signed up to the Our Future Health project which will help understand why some people get conditions from dementia to cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke - and how best to prevent or treat them. The Government-funded study is hoping to reach five million participants and anyone aged over 18 can sign up as long as they agree to contribute their DNA test results and anonymised medical records. Health leaders say it will help transform global understanding of health and how we should live.

Dr Raghib Ali OBE, chief medical officer of Our Future Health, said: “Our volunteers’ data is creating a transformative scientific resource that will power health discoveries for decades to come and help everyone live longer and healthier lives. For the first time, researchers will be able to look at the genetic information of over a million people and see how it interacts with demographics, lifestyle, physical measurements, family history, and personal medical records.”

Anyone who signs up will help scientists understand how factors such as employment, earnings, family circumstances and marital status affect health. During clinic appointments volunteers will be offered information about their own health and eventually given the option to receive feedback about their risk of some diseases. They will also get the chance to take part in cutting-edge research trials.

Around one in every 13 people living in the UK will eventually become part of the biggest health database of its kind in the .

Science and Secretary Peter Kyle said: “It is incredible that more than one million people have taken part in Our Future Health – their dedication has made it the largest health research system of its kind. The combined efforts of the , health charities and industry has set the foundations for breakthroughs in the fight against cancer, dementia, diabetes and more, for decades to come. With Government backing, Our Future Health will help our researchers transform how we diagnose, treat and prevent a whole range of debilitating diseases.”

The database will allow scientists to look at blood that was collected two to five years before diagnosis in order to identify key markers of the disease. This genetic data will help British scientists and the NHS assess how and why human diseases develop.

Professor Michael Cook, executive director of science at Our Future Health, said: "Today the UK really lags far behind many EU countries and countries around the world in terms of five-year cancer survival rates. And we know that if we can just diagnose some of these malignancies one or two years earlier, we are likely to see a stage shift. So rather than people being diagnosed with stage three disease, they'll be diagnosed with stage two; or rather than stage two, stage one. And that really is a game changer for cancer survival.”

Anyone over the age of 18 who lives in the UK can join the programme online at by completing an online health questionnaire, and booking a short clinic appointment.