Giles GG (1990) The Melbourne Study of Diet and Cancer. Proc Nutr Soc Aust 61-68
A prospective cohort is being mounted in Melbourne to examine the links between diet and certain types of cancers and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus and mortality form ischaemic heart disease, stroke and “all-causes” in both men and women. The study deliberately exploits the increased heterogeneity of dietary intakes in migrants as they become more or less acculturated with increasing residence in Australia. The first phase is to recruit 30,000 southern European migrants and 20,000 Australian-born volunteers. Information will be gathered by questionnaire about personal history, lifestyle and diet. Following a series of physical measurements, blood samples will be collected. Some key indicators will be measured immediately and samples of plasma and white cells will be stored in liquid nitrogen. It will take four and a half years to recruit the cohort. Follow-up is planned for 20 years from commencement, with one third of the cohort being actively followed up each year. By collecting baseline measurements of medical history, blood pressure, anthropometry and biochemistry, it will be possible prospectively to identify disease-causing mechanisms relevant to different disease outcomes. As cohort members develop the diseases of interest, their data will be compared with those of unaffected “control” individuals selected within the cohort.