Monzón will host one of the three initial nodes of the IMPaCT Cohort that will study 200.000 people to improve the health of the Spanish population

• Aragón participates in this project, which aspires to be a tool for the advancement of personalized preventive medicine, through the Aragón Health Research Institute
• Subsequently, Zaragoza will have an urban node once the pilot study is launched, for which it is expected to recruit 4.000 participants between 16 and 79 years old in Monzón, Barbastro and Binéfar

To prevent the appearance of a disease, it is necessary to know well what causes that disease, so having information from a large number of people and following them over time will allow us to predict the risks of getting sick at an individual level, also thanks to advances. in genomics, digital and ICT, which facilitate this personalized approach. To achieve this, the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) has promoted the IMPaCT Cohort, an infrastructure focused on predictive medicine that is a basis for implementing, developing and consolidating precision medicine in Spain through the creation of a large population cohort of 200.000. people. The study plans to have 50 nodes spread throughout Spain, from which the participants will be contacted and monitored. To launch the project, a pilot study will be carried out in three IMPaCT centers in various parts of Spain, one of them in Monzón. Later, Aragón will have another urban node in Zaragoza capital. The community participates in the proposal through the Health Research Institute of Aragon (IIS Aragón), the Department of Health and the Aragonese Health Service.

The project will collect information from participants through questionnaires, physical examinations, physiological tests and analysis of biomarkers in biological samples, which will be carried out at each node. The data will be available for the development of other scientific projects of interest to society. For this reason, the principal investigator of this project at the IIS Aragón, Luis Hijos, describes the IMPaCT Cohort as “a project of everyone and for everyone that represents a great step for the medicine of the future.” “With the results of the study, causes of diseases will be identified, helping to improve the health of future generations. Thus, with everyone's help we can learn new ways to prevent, understand or treat diseases,” he highlights.

Monzón contributes as a rural node and is made up of the aggregation of the Basic Health Zones of Barbastro, Binéfar, Monzón Urbano and Monzón Rural, and with the same reference hospital center, the Barbastro Hospital. Here 8.000 people will be selected through random sampling of all its residents between 16 and 79 years old who meet the inclusion criteria. Assuming an acceptance rate to participate in the study close to 50% (a commitment to long-term adherence and retention will be required), it is planned to recruit a total of 4.000 participants over the first five years of the study, that they will be followed for the next 15 years. “Participating is everyone's responsibility. “The participants in IMPaCT will have a unique opportunity to contribute to a better world,” defends Hijos, who makes a global call to people who are contacted to participate: “If they call you, come.”

Currently, in the Monzón node there are personnel hired to begin data collection in the training phase, work is being done on resolving logistical issues related to material resources and the recruitment of personnel is being planned. sample to start this month.

There are examples of successful cohorts in other countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany or the United States. Like the IMPaCT Cohort, these cohorts have biological samples, very extensive epidemiological information - including social and economic factors - and constitute the basic tool for advancing personalized prevention. Thus, the IMPaCT Cohort will allow for a qualitative leap in research on precision preventive medicine in Spain.

This initiative is coordinated by the Network Biomedical Research Center (CIBER), dependent on the ISCIII, in its area of ​​Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP). The CIBER aims to promote research of excellence in biomedicine and health sciences carried out in the National Health System and the Spanish System of Science, Technology and Innovation (SECTI).

21 Spanish institutions from all the autonomous communities collaborate in the IMPaCT Cohort, as well as the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The group of participating entities guarantees the integration of the IMPaCT cohort in health services, at the service of the entire society, promoting its exploitation by the entire scientific community.

About the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón)

The IIS Aragón is the Health Research Institute formed by the “Lozano Blesa” and “Miguel Servet” University Hospitals, Primary Health Care, the University of Zaragoza and the Aragonese Institute of Health Sciences. The objectives of the IIS Aragón are to bring together basic and applied, clinical and health services research; create a quality research, care and teaching environment that integrates health professionals, training specialists and postgraduate and undergraduate students, as well as constitute the ideal place for attracting talent and the location of large scientific-technological facilities.