The Maastricht Study

    Characteristic

    Description

     

           Name of the cohort 
     

    The Maastricht Study

     

           Description / aim of the cohort 

    The objectives of The Maastricht Study are to provide in-depth information on determinants of the development and progression of:

     

    - type 2 diabetes;

    - its classic complications: cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy; and

    - its emerging comorbidities, such as cognitive decline, depression, and gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal and respiratory diseases.

     

    The Maastricht Study will specifically focus on possible mechanisms that may explain why type 2 diabetes accelerates the development and progression of classic complications and emerging comorbidities. The study will also examine the above in relation to quality of life and the use of healthcare resources.

           Description of the cohort population (age, specific characteristics, e.g. adults with cardiovascular disease, low SEP) 

    Eligible for participation were all individuals aged between 40 and 75 years and living in the southern part of the Netherlands. Participants were recruited through mass media campaigns, the municipal registries, and the regional Diabetes Patient Registry via mailings. Recruitment was stratified according to known T2DM status, with an oversampling of individuals with T2DM, for reasons of efficiency.

     

           Location of the cohort

     

    Maastricht

           Institution

    Maastricht University and Maastricht University Medical Center+

     

           Cohort size (n)

    9000 participants

     

           Start year of the cohort

    2010

     

           Follow-up (years and n)

    Annual follow-up questionnaire data collected as from 2012. Phase 2 (second wave) repeated clinical measurements as from 2020.

     

           Types of variables (e.g., health behaviours, psychosocial factors, clinical health outcomes, demographic characteristics)

           Measurement methods (e.g., questionnaires, clinical assessments, biosamples)

    See: https://www.demaastrichtstudie.nl/sites/maastrichtstudie/files/2025-11/category_index_20251104.pdf

     

           Oral health variables (questionnaire/self-reported)

    Questionnaire:

              Do you visit the dentist or dental hygienist at least once a year?

              Do you still have teeth of your own?

              How many teeth have you lost during your life?

              Do you think you might have gum disease?

              Overall, how would you rate the health of your teeth and gums?

              Have you ever had treatment for gum disease such as scaling and root planing, sometimes called deep cleaning ?

              Have you ever had any teeth become loose on their own, without an injury?

              Have you ever been told by a dental professional that you lost bone around your teeth?

              During the past 3 months, have you noticed a tooth that doesn't look right?

              How often do you brush your teeth?

              What type of toothbrush do you usually use?

              How many minutes do you usually brush your teeth?

              In the last 7 days, how many times did you use dental floss or any other device to clean between your teeth (other than a toothbrush)?

              In the last 7 days, how many times did you use mouthwash or other dental rinse product that you use to treat dental disease or dental problems?

     

           Oral health variables (clinically assessed)

    Not available.

           Oral health variables (biological, e.g., microbiome data, saliva)

    Metabolomics and proteomics data of oral rinse (n=200) samples Phase 2.

           Reference to design paper

    Schram et al, 2014

           Website

              https://www.demaastrichtstudie.nl/

              https://www.demaastrichtstudie.nl/research/data-dictionary

     

           Procedure for requesting data

    See:

              https://www.demaastrichtstudie.nl/research/data-guidelines

              https://www.demaastrichtstudie.nl/research/data-dictionary

     

           Procedure for data storage

    According to agreement in MDTA between institutes.

           Associated costs for data requests (yes/no)

    Yes

    - Data application with non-MUMC/UM employee as first or last author (compensation for data handling is 5000 euro excl VAT)

    - Data application first and last author are MUMC or UM employee (compensation for data-handling is 3000 euro).

           Contact person / principal investigator

    For general questions, please contact: um-researchdms@maastrichtuniversity.nl

     

    For questions regarding the data, please contact: datamanagement-dms@maastrichtuniversity.nl