Cohort profile: the Food Chain Plus (FoCus) cohort.

The Food Chain Plus (FoCus) cohort was launched in 2011 for population-based research related to metabolic inflammation. To characterize this novel pathology in a comprehensive manner, data collection included multiple omics layers such as phenomics, microbiomics, metabolomics, genomics, and metagenomics as well as nutrition profiling, taste perception phenotyping and social network analysis. The cohort was set-up to represent a Northern German population of the Kiel region.

Identification of direct and indirect social network effects in the pathophysiology of insulin resistance in obese human subjects.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine to what extent different social network mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of obesity and insulin-resistance.

Design: We used nonparametric and parametric regression models to analyse whether individual BMI and HOMA-IR are determined by social network characteristics.

Subjects And Methods: A total of 677 probands (EGO) and 3033 social network partners (ALTER) were included in the study.