Cohort Study on Plant-based Diets (COPLANT Study)
The Cohort on Plant-based Diets (COPLANT) study is a multi-centre cohort study that starts baseline recruitment from 2024 to 2027 with approximately 6,000 participants in Germany and Austria. The COPLANT study focuses on vegan (no animal products), vegetarian (no meat and fish, but dairy products and eggs), pescetarian (no meat, but fish) and omnivorous (mixed diet including all possible animal products) diets. The aim of the COPLANT study is to gain new insights on health benefits and risks as well as social, ecological and economic effects of different plant-based diets in comparison to a mixed diet. In addition to a detailed dietary survey using an app adapted to the needs of this study, the baseline examination includes measurements of body composition, bone health, cardiovascular risk factors, diabetes risk, contaminants and lifestyle. For the basic laboratory program, fasting blood, 24-hour urine collection and a stool sample are taken from all study participants. Furthermore, specific aspects of dietary behavior, physical activity and other lifestyle factors are collected via questionnaires. Follow-up studies are planned at intervals of 5, 10 and 20 years after the baseline visit.
• age between 18 and 69 years at recruitment (age-stratified recruitment in four age groups (18 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49 and 50 to 69 years) which should be equally distributed across the four diets)
• following their current diet for at least one year
• health insured
• are willing to have blood taken (adults)
• are willing and able to complete questionnaires
• only at Berlin, Jena, Giessen and Karlsruhe sites: pregnant and breastfeeding women were recruited (shortened examination programm)
• only at the Regensburg, Heidelberg, Bonn and Vienna sites: are neither pregnant nor breastfeeding at the time of recruitment
• only at Berlin and Karlsruhe sites: children of adult participants (shortened examination programm without collection of blood, urine, and stool)
• are able to give informed consent to participate in the study
• have given their consent to participate in the COPLANT study