| 1. |
I am an EPIC participant- will I be hearing from
EPIC again soon? |
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We are in a very active stage of the study right now.
The third health check is ongoing and many participants have been
approached since 2004 but we still have many people left to approach.
Do not worry if you have not been invited to attend yet, we expect
it to take several years to contact all 25,000 participants. In addition
to the third health check, there two separate questionnaires have been sent to many participants. Every active participant was sent at least one questionnaire in 2007 that was separate from the
Health Check. |
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| 2. |
I am an EPIC participant but I have not heard from
EPIC in many years. |
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You should be contacted at least before the end of this
year. If not, it may be that we no longer have current contact information
for you. Please contact EPIC to
check your status and update your information. |
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| 3. |
I have never been involved before, can I still sign
up for EPIC now? |
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No. As EPIC is a long-term study, we are continuing to
follow our original participants and are no longer recruiting new
participants. |
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| 4. |
I am an EPIC participant but I have moved out of
the Norfolk area. Can I still participate? |
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You are very welcome to complete questionnaires from
your new address, just let us know your new contact details. If you
have not moved too far, you are also welcome to come for a health
check if you are willing to make the trip to Norwich. |
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| 5. |
I am unable to attend the clinic, but can I still
take part in the EPIC study? |
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We are extremely grateful for your participation. If
you are unable to attend the clinic, but can complete the questionnaire,
then that is still very useful to us. |
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| 6. |
I now have an illness, can I still continue to take
part? |
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Yes. Any information with regards to your health is
extremely important to the study, even if you are unable to take part
physically and it is just to inform us that you have a certain illness. |
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| 7. |
Am I too old to participate? |
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There is no age limit to participate in any part of EPIC study. |
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| 8. |
I withdrew from EPIC at some point in the past but
I am now interested in participating again. |
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Let us know and we will be happy to re-enroll you, making you eligible
for the Third Health Check and any other EPIC related activities. |
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| 9. |
What results have EPIC come up with over the years? |
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For general information on results see Key
Findings. We have published many papers over the years, some of
which have made headline news (See EPIC in the
news). For more details click on all our published results, see
Publications. |
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| 10. |
What does the future hold for EPIC? |
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Our future lies in your hands. EPIC is the most important research
study looking at health and lifestyle. We have expanded the study
to include a wide range of other conditions that affect so many of
us. The longer we follow people the more information we can gather
on how our diet and our lifestyle affect our health. We can only do
this with your continued participation. |
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Questions about the Third Health Check |
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| 1. |
How is the third health check different from previous
health checks? |
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The EPIC study was initially designed to look at links
between diet, our lifestyle and cancer. Over the years we have also
been able to study other important long-term illnesses such as chronic
heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis.
Nowadays, people are living longer, and it is important to all
of us to be healthy, have fewer disabilities and be more independent
as we age. So we are now expanding the EPIC-Norfolk study even further
to look at aspects of healthy aging, and how things like our memory
and our ability to do every day tasks are affected as we get older.
We are also taking a detailed look at the eyes and how our diet
and lifestyle may have an effect on our vision. See the Assessments
page for more information. |
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| 2. |
Why do we have to come to Norwich, is
there a clinic near me? |
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Previously, EPIC nurses either came to your local GP practice, or
we set up a special clinic in your local area. Due to the complex
equipment we are using in this phase, we are unable to set up in different
clinics. We now have a central location in Norwich with new nurses
who have been fully trained by specialists in London and Cambridge. |
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| 3. |
Why is the appointment longer now? |
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The current health check lasts about two hours or longer in some
cases. As well as repeating the tests from the first and second health
checks to see how your health and lifestyle have changed since we
last saw you, we have included a number of new tests. Some of the
new tests involve using the latest technology and camera equipment
in order to get very accurate readings on memory and the health of
your eyes. |
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| 4. |
My partner is a participant but was not approached
when I was. |
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If you have received an invitation to the third health check, and
you would like to come on the same day as another EPIC participant
living at the same address (or near by), please call us on our freephone
number and we will send an invitation pack to that person and arrange
an appointment for the same time. |
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| 5. |
What if the set clinic times do not suit me? |
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That may not be a problem. Please call our clinic and let them know
and we may be able to find a time that suits you. |
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| 6. |
What do I need to wear? |
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On the day of your appointment, you will need to wear light clothing
and comfortable flat shoes. Also, please note that you will be asked
to remove your shoes and socks for two of the tests. Please wear or
bring along your glasses for reading (or looking at a computer screen)
and your hearing aid if you usually wear one. If you usually wear
contact lenses, you will need to remove them for the eye exam, so
please bring your glasses too. |
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| 7. |
What is meant by 'physical' examination? |
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When we say 'physical', this relates to physical performance (e.g.
balance, lung function etc.). At no point during the health check
are you medically examined. |
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| 8. |
Is there any parking at the clinic? |
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There is parking available on-site. You will be sent a special Car-Park
voucher so that you can park for free during your health check. |
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| 9. |
Do you have disabled access? |
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Yes. We do have ramp outside the clinic, but please do call the
clinic to discuss your individual needs if you have any concerns. |
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| 10. |
What results are available after I've had a health
check? |
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You can have the results on your full blood count, cholesterol and
HbA1C, which is a measure of the average amount of sugar in your blood
and an a good test to see if your blood sugar is under control. |
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| 11. |
Why can't I have all my results? |
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Many of the tests are research tools rather than diagnostic tests
and so we are not able to give the results on these because they do
not have defined medical meaning. |
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| 12. |
Why doesn't EPIC carry out a Prostate blood text (PSA test) as part of the Third Health Check? |
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A PSA test is not considered a reliable test when used as a research tool, as a number of other risk factors have to be taken into consideration. Also, this is not something we offer due to the number of false positives we would come across as the age of our population increases. |
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| 13. |
Why doesn't EPIC carry out a hearing test as part of the Third Health Check?
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This would be a useful test, but unfortunately the conditions within the clinic are unsuitable at the present time to guarantee accurate testing. We are looking at possibly introducing this test in the future as equipment becomes available to eliminate background noise which can interfere with results. |
