title: Cohort description: The Danish study of Functional Disorders.
abstract: The Danish study of Functional Disorders (DanFunD) cohort was initiated to outline the epidemiology of functional somatic syndromes (FSS) and is the first larger coordinated epidemiological study focusing exclusively on FSS. FSS are prevalent in all medical settings and can be defined as syndromes that, after appropriate medical assessment, cannot be explained in terms of a conventional medical or surgical disease. FSS are frequent and the clinical importance varies from vague symptoms to extreme disability. No well-described medical explanations exist for FSS, and how to delimit FSS remains a controversial topic. The specific aims with the cohort were to test delimitations of FSS, estimate prevalence and incidence rates, identify risk factors, delimitate the pathogenic pathways, and explore the consequences of FSS. The study population comprises a random sample of 9,656 men and women aged 18-76 years from the general population examined from 2011 to 2015. The survey comprises screening questionnaires for five types of FSS, ie, fibromyalgia, whiplash-associated disorder, multiple chemical sensitivity, irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic fatigue syndrome, and for the unifying diagnostic category of bodily distress syndrome. Additional data included a telephone-based diagnostic interview assessment for FSS, questionnaires on physical and mental health, personality traits, lifestyle, use of health care services and social factors, and a physical examination with measures of cardiorespiratory and morphological fitness, metabolic fitness, neck mobility, heart rate variability, and pain sensitivity. A biobank including serum, plasma, urine, DNA, and microbiome has been established, and central registry data from both responders and nonresponders are similarly available on morbidity, mortality, reimbursement of medicine, heath care use, and social factors. A complete 5-year follow-up is scheduled to take place from year 2017 to 2020, and further reexaminations will be planned. Several projects using the DanFunD data are ongoing, and findings will be published in the coming years.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Prevention and Health, The Capital Region of Denmark, Glostrup.
authors.forename: Thomas Meinertz
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Dantoft
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Prevention and Health, The Capital Region of Denmark, Glostrup.
authors.forename: Jeanette Frost
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Ebstrup
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Prevention and Health, The Capital Region of Denmark, Glostrup; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen; Department of Clinical Experimental Research, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup.
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Linneberg
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Prevention and Health, The Capital Region of Denmark, Glostrup.
authors.forename: Sine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Skovbjerg
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Prevention and Health, The Capital Region of Denmark, Glostrup.
authors.forename: Anja Lykke
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Madsen
authors.affiliation: Coordinating Research Centre, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Frederiksberg.
authors.forename: Jesper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mehlsen
authors.affiliation: Coordinating Research Centre, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Frederiksberg.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brinth
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Research Unit, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Copenhagen.
authors.forename: Lene Falgaard
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Eplov
authors.affiliation: The Research Clinic for Functional Disorders and Psychosomatics, Aarhus University Hospital; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Aarhus, Aarhus.
authors.forename: Tina Wisbech
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Carstensen
authors.affiliation: The Research Clinic for Functional Disorders and Psychosomatics, Aarhus University Hospital; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Aarhus, Aarhus.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schroder
authors.affiliation: The Research Clinic for Functional Disorders and Psychosomatics, Aarhus University Hospital; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Aarhus, Aarhus.
authors.forename: Per Klausen
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Center for Healthy Aging.
authors.forename: Erik Lykke
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Mortensen
authors.affiliation: Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research.
authors.forename: Torben
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research.
authors.forename: Oluf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Prevention and Health, The Capital Region of Denmark, Glostrup; Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen; Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Torben
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
keywords: epidemiology; functional somatic syndromes; longitudinal cohort study; medically unexplained symptoms; pathophysiology; risk factors