DiabNorth (Diabnorr in Swedish) includes people with diabetes who have participated in Västerbotten Intervention Programme (VHU) or the study Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA). These have been identified through linkage between the VHU cohort, the MONICA cohort, journal databases from the regions of Västerbotten and Norrbotten, the National Register of Medicines and the National Diabetes Register (NDR).
Until the 2014 update of DiabNorth, everyone that was identified with diabetes was informed in writing about the register, and provided written informed consent to register information regarding their disease, including complications, after linking to various healthcare registers.
For the 2024 update, the Swedish Ethical Review Authority approved an "opt-out" option, whereby information about the upcoming update is made available via public websites and advertisements in local newspapers. Those who no longer wish to be part of DiabNorth can withdraw their participation by notifying DiabNorth.
By 2025, when the latest update is complete, DiabNorr will consist of approximately 9,000 people with diabetes.
