Here you will find answers to the most common questions which we are asked about the EPIC study.
No, the recruitment process for EPIC-Oxford has been completed, so we do not need any more participants. Follow-up questionnaires are currently being sent out to people who completed an original recruitment questionnaire approximately 5 years previously.
No, the strategy for establishing the EPIC-Oxford cohort was to recruit people with a wide range of diets by targeting vegetarians as well as the general UK population. 50% of our sample have a meat-free diet. This is extremely valuable, because it is the largest study of vegetarians in the world and will provide extensive information on the long-term health of vegetarians.
No, the EPIC study provides an ideal opportunity for research on humans. Furthermore the Oxford component of EPIC includes 27,000 participants who do not eat meat, of which 24,987 are vegetarian and 2,162 are vegan. This is the largest study of vegetarians in the world and will provide extensive information on the long-term health of people who do not eat meat.
No, the information you provide is known only to the research group involved in the EPIC study and will be used only for medical research. Your name and address are used only by the study investigators, in order to contact you personally. All data is handled and held under appropriate secure conditions, and is used anonymously for all analyses. EPIC is registered under the Data Protection Act and has received ethics approval from the relevant authorities.
No, data are analysed anonymously, so unfortunately we are unable to give feedback on an individual basis. The analyses we conduct are designed to explore the associations with the health of groups of people, but would not be expected to be of much relevance to individual participants.
The questionnaire is designed to produce estimates of the intakes of major nutrients. We ask that you try to estimate average responses to the questions, based on a representative period in your present life. If you find it difficult to record certain aspects of your diet, health or lifestyle, the inclusion of additional notes is a useful source of information.
No, please send the questionnaire as it is. We request that you use crosses, rather than ticks, because experience has shown that a tick has a tendency to stray outside the intended box, whereas a cross tends to pinpoint the response more accurately.
Weight will be looked at in conjunction with height. We already have a record of your height, from the original recruitment questionnaire.
This provides some information on the regional origins of participants in the study, which can sometimes be associated with both diet and health. Allowing for this can help to clarify the role of diet compared to other factors which can affect health.
One report has suggested the possibility that more sons with these conditions are born to vegetarian mothers. This needs further investigation, so the question is designed to examine the association of vegetarianism with the prevalence of these conditions.
Yes, the change in your eating habits will not invalidate your contribution to the study. The changes in your diet can be recorded in the follow-up questionnaire.
If you do plan to live abroad, please let us know so that we can update our records and ensure that no further correspondence is sent to your old address. If you plan to return to the UK in the future, and are still willing to participate in the EPIC study, we would be grateful if you would inform us of your new UK address on your return.
The main topics which will be examined during the next two years will be the relationships of dietary patterns and nutrient intake among participants in EPIC-Oxford with their risk for subsequent development of major diseases, in particular breast cancer among women, fractures related to osteoporosis, and ischaemic heart disease. We will be looking particularly at: whether breast cancer risk is related to the consumption of animal protein and/or soya products; whether the risk for ischaemic heart disease is associated with the intake of particular types of dietary fat and/or with soya products; and whether the risk for fractures due to osteoporosis is associated with the intake of calcium, animal protein and fruits and vegetables.
Please let us know your change of address so that we can update our records. You can contact us by email queries@epic-oxford.org or by telephone on 01865 289611.
Posted Mar 18, 10:52 AM · link to this article