Recruitment and data collection for Fenland phase 3 study is now complete. We are grateful to the more than 5,000 Fenland Study participants who took part in this phase of the study.

The final clinical visit took place at the end of June and the mobile app, used by the participants for submitting survey data and viewing feedback from their clinical visit, was switched off at the end of September.

A total of 4,973 participants came for a clinical visit, provided questionnaire responses, and wore a physical activity monitor. A further 73 provided questionnaire data and wore a physical activity monitor without attending a visit.

Data availability

We are working hard to make the Fenland 3 data available for release as soon as we can. Lab results, anthropometry variables, and raw questionnaire variables are now available for request. Liver ultrasound, medications, dietary intake and physical activity data will be made available over the next few months.

Keep an eye on the Fenland Study Data Sharing page for updates on when we expect datasets to become available.

To request Fenland 3 data please email datasharing@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk

The Fenland Study continues

The Fenland study, which marks its 20th anniversary this year, has contributed to more than 110 publications. It has been cited in 42 policy documents from 30 unique international sources, including the World Health Organization, UK Government, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and the National Bureau of Economic Research.

We have recently started inviting a randomly selected small group of Fenland Study participants to take part in the Fenland Remote Assessment Study (FRAS), the next step towards digitising the Study. We aim to evaluate how technology can enable research participants to complete specific measurements in the comfort of their home.

In FRAS we have partnered with Google to provide Pixel smartwatches to participants, which will allow us to gather data over a one-month period, well beyond the one-week assessment possible with the movement accelerometer used in earlier phases of the Fenland Study. This will provide a more comprehensive picture of daily activities while enabling participants to contribute to research at their convenience.

We are grateful to everyone who has participated in the Fenland Study. We look forward to continuing to work with them in future, and to reporting back to them on the continued growth of the impact of the research that they have contributed to.