Abstract
Introduction The purpose of VIKING II is to create an observational cohort of volunteers with ancestry from the Northern Isles of Scotland, primarily for identifying genetic variants influencing disease. The new online protocol is separate to, but follows on from, earlier genetic epidemiological clinic-based studies in the isolated populations of Orkney and Shetland. These populations are favourable for the study of rarer genetic variants due to genetic drift, the large number of relatives, and availability of pedigree information. They are known to be genetically distinct from mainland British populations. Methods and analysis Online methods are being used to recruit ∼4,000 people who have Northern Isles ancestry, living anywhere in the world. The option for participants to have actionable genetic results returned is offered. Consent will be taken electronically. Data will be collected at baseline through an online questionnaire and longitudinally through linkage to NHS data in the electronic health record. The questionnaire collects a variety of phenotypes including personal and family health. DNA will be extracted from saliva samples then genome-wide genotyped and exome sequenced. VIKING II aims to capitalise on the special features of the Northern Isles populations to create a research cohort that will facilitate the analysis of genetic variants associated with a broad range of traits and disease endpoints, including otherwise rare variants that have drifted to high frequency in these populations. Ethics and dissemination The South East Scotland Research Ethics Committee gave the study a favourable opinion. VIKING II is sponsored by the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian. Summary research findings will be disseminated to participants and funding bodies, presented at conferences and reported in peer-reviewed publications.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2121 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | International Journal of Population Data Science |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 16 May 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work is supported by the Medical Research Council University Unit award to the MRC Human Genetics Unit, University of Edinburgh, grant number MC_UU_00007/10, Programme MC_PC_U127592696.
Funding Information:
The University of Edinburgh Academic and Clinical Central Office for Research and Development (ACCORD) provided helpful advice on this Study Protocol. We thank the people with ancestry from the Northern Isles of Scotland for their involvement in and ongoing support for our research. This work is supported by the Medical Research Council University Unit award to the MRC Human Genetics Unit, University of Edinburgh, grant number MC_UU_00007/10, Programme MC_PC_U127592696.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Authors.
Data Availability Statement
The VIKING II Data Dictionary and questionnaire are available online at the University of Edinburgh’s DataShare repository, DOI: https://doi.org/10.7488/ds/3145. There is neither a favourable ethics opinion, nor consent from participants, to permit public release of the individual level research datato be collected in this study. These datasets will contain information, including genomics data, which could compromise participant privacy. Instead, de-identified data and samples will be available for research upon reasonable request to access QTL@ed.ac.uk. VIKING II will use a managed access process, in accord with the consent given by participants, and the study Privacy Notice [16].Keywords
- cohort
- genetics
- isolate
- Orkney
- population
- Shetland