Health Study of Older Adults Migrating Between Cold and Tropical Regions in China Investigating Heart, Metabolic, and Age-Related Conditions With Long-Term Follow-Up and Biological Sample Collection

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are conducting the Chinese Migrant Population Health Cohort, a prospective multi-center study focusing on adults aged 60 years and older who seasonally migrate between cold Heilongjiang and tropical Hainan regions. The study aims to understand the risks of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in this population, explore underlying biological and environmental causes, and identify effective prevention strategies. This is the first study in China to systematically examine how seasonal migration affects older adults health by integrating epidemiology, multi-omics, environmental data, and health policy translation. Participants are recruited from both their origin and destination locations and undergo comprehensive baseline assessments including questionnaires, physical exams, medical imaging, biospecimen collection blood, stool, hair, nails, and monitoring of environmental exposures. The cohort includes groups such as winter migrants, summer migrants, cold-region residents, and tropical-region residents, all followed over time without any intervention. The study also plans to use artificial intelligence to develop risk prediction models and nested randomized controlled trials to evaluate targeted interventions. During the study, participants will have periodic reassessments, remote monitoring, and data linkage with hospital records to track health outcomes over up to five years. Researchers will measure events like the first major cardiovascular incident, new metabolic disorders, deaths, changes in cardiometabolic risk factors, quality of life, and cognitive function. Participants ability to complete questionnaires and physical exams is monitored, with long-term follow-up and biospecimen collection to support the research into disease mechanisms and health management.

Chinese Migrant Population Health Cohort