title: Ophthalmic epidemiology in Europe: the "European Eye Epidemiology" (E3) consortium.
abstract: The European Eye Epidemiology (E3) consortium is a recently formed consortium of 29 groups from 12 European countries. It already comprises 21 population-based studies and 20 other studies (case-control, cases only, randomized trials), providing ophthalmological data on approximately 170,000 European participants. The aim of the consortium is to promote and sustain collaboration and sharing of data and knowledge in the field of ophthalmic epidemiology in Europe, with particular focus on the harmonization of methods for future research, estimation and projection of frequency and impact of visual outcomes in European populations (including temporal trends and European subregions), identification of risk factors and pathways for eye diseases (lifestyle, vascular and metabolic factors, genetics, epigenetics and biomarkers) and development and validation of prediction models for eye diseases. Coordinating these existing data will allow a detailed study of the risk factors and consequences of eye diseases and visual impairment, including study of international geographical variation which is not possible in individual studies. It is expected that collaborative work on these existing data will provide additional knowledge, despite the fact that the risk factors and the methods for collecting them differ somewhat among the participating studies. Most studies also include biobanks of various biological samples, which will enable identification of biomarkers to detect and predict occurrence and progression of eye diseases. This article outlines the rationale of the consortium, its design and presents a summary of the methodology.
authors.affiliation: Univ. Bordeaux, ISPED, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076, Bordeaux Cedex, France. cecile.delcourt@isped.fr.|INSERM, Centre INSERM U897-Epidemiologie-Biostatistique, 33000, Bordeaux, France. cecile.delcourt@isped.fr.
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delcourt
authors.affiliation: Univ. Bordeaux, ISPED, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076, Bordeaux Cedex, France.|INSERM, Centre INSERM U897-Epidemiologie-Biostatistique, 33000, Bordeaux, France.|Service d'Ophtalmologie, CHU de Bordeaux, 33000, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Korobelnik
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gabriëlle H S
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Buitendijk
authors.affiliation: NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, EC1V 2PD, UK.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, St Thomas' Hospital, London, SE1 7EH, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piermarocchi
authors.affiliation: NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, EC1V 2PD, UK.
authors.forename: Tunde
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Peto
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.|Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nomdo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jansonius
authors.affiliation: Department Ophthalmology, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mirshahi
authors.affiliation: Centre for Experimental Medicine, Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: Ruth E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Hogg
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR1324 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, 21000, Dijon, France.|CNRS, UMR6265 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, 21000, Dijon, France.|Université de Bourgogne, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, 21000, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bretillon
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Research and Clinical Applications in Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, AHEPA Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Fotis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Topouzis
authors.affiliation: Vienna Reading Center, Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Gabor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Deak
authors.affiliation: Research Unit of Ophthalmology, Institute of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.|Department of Ophthalmology, Odense University Hospital, 5000, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grauslund
authors.affiliation: Research Unit of Ophthalmology, Institute of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.|Department of Ophthalmology, Odense University Hospital, 5000, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Broe
authors.affiliation: Service d'ophtalmologie, Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Creteil, CRC, CRB, Universite Paris Est, Creteil, France.
authors.forename: Eric H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Souied
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR1324 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, 21000, Dijon, France.|CNRS, UMR6265 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, 21000, Dijon, France.|Université de Bourgogne, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, 21000, Dijon, France.|Department of Ophthalmology, CHU, 21000, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Creuzot-Garcher
authors.affiliation: Institut de la Vision, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR_S 968, Paris, 75012, France.|INSERM, U968, 75012, Paris, France.|CNRS, UMR_7210, 75012, Paris, France.|Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, INSERM-DHOS CIC 1423, 75012, Paris, France.|Fondation Ophtalmologique Rothschild, 75019, Paris, France.|Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, EC1V 9EL, UK.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sahel
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U1061, 34093, Montpellier, France.|Univ Montpellier 1, 34000, Montpellier, France.|Department of Ophthalmology, Gui De Chauliac Hospital, 34000, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Daien
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Chemistry, Fimlab Laboratories, Tampere, Finland.|University of Tampere School of Medicine, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Terho
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lehtimäki
authors.affiliation: Clinical Epidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University Münster, 48129, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Werner
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Hense
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U1018, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health (CESP), Epidemiology of Occupational and Social Determinants of Health, Villejuif, France.|Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin, Villejuif, France.|Northern State Medical University, Arkhangelsk, Russia.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Prokofyeva
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Genetics, Technische Universität München, 81675, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Konrad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oexle
authors.affiliation: NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, EC1V 2PD, UK.|Population, Policy and Practice Programme, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, WC1N 1EH, UK.|Ulverscroft Vision Research Group, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, WC1N 1EH, UK.
authors.forename: Jugnoo S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Rahi
authors.affiliation: Population, Policy and Practice Programme, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, WC1N 1EH, UK.|Ulverscroft Vision Research Group, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, WC1N 1EH, UK.
authors.forename: Phillippa M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Cumberland
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, GRADE Reading Center, University of Bonn, 53127, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmitz-Valckenberg
authors.affiliation: Center of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Cologne, 50924, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fauser
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway.|Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Geir
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bertelsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Carel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hoyng
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Genetics, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bergen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra (CHUC), Coimbra, Portugal.|Faculty of Medicine (FMUC), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.|Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image (AIBILI), Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rufino
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Inselspital, University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lotery
authors.affiliation: Centre for Experimental Medicine, Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: Usha
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Chakravarthy
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Caroline C W
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Klaver
mesh_terms: D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D009885:Ophthalmology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D044465:White People
keywords: Epidemiology; Europe; Eye diseases; Ophthalmology; Prevalence; Risk factors