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. 2021 Oct 7;6(1):1686. doi: 10.23889/ijpds.v6i1.1686

Table 1: Characteristics of electronic health data for population-based multigenerational health research at six sites.

Site Name of database or registry Source data Number of generations family relationships Methods for determining Family structures and relationships Linkable databases
European Sites
Denmark Danish Civil Registration System (CRS) CRS registration Not reported Legal parent & child Siblings (inferred) Spouses Previously: families residing at same residence (1968-1978) 1978 onwards - legal parental status Linkable to Danish National Health Service Register, Danish Cancer Registry, Danish Register of Causes of Death, Danish National Patient Registry, National Prescription Database, Pathology Database, Western Denmark Heart Registry, Danish Stroke Registry, Medical Birth Register, and Adoption Register
Norway Norwegian Family Based Life Course Linkage Statistics Norway National Personal Registry Educational Registry Cause of Death Registry Not reported Parent & child Spouses Household information from census for those where relationships were not indicated in the National Persons Registry Linkable to Norway Cause of Death Registry, Medical Birth Registry of Norway, Sickness and Disability Registry, Cohort of Norway
Sweden Swedish Multi-generation Register National registration number Total Population Register Statistics Sweden Medical Birth Register Not reported Biological parent & child Adoptive parent & child Siblings For married or recently widowed mothers, husband is seen as father. Otherwise paternity is established by acknowledgment or by court order Linkable to Swedish Medical Birth Register, Swedish National Inpatient Register, Swedish Prescribed Drug Register, Swedish Cancer Register, Swedish Cause of Death Register
Non-European Sites
Manitoba, Canada Manitoba Population Research Data Repository Vital Statistics Birth records Health insurance registrations Up to three generations Parent & child Siblings Family unit registration Birth records Vital Statistics Linkable to hospital, physician, nursing home, home care, vital statistics, prescription drug, cancer registry, education, family services, income assistance, social, and justice data
Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database Taiwan Birth Registry Health insurance registrations Not reported Biological parent & child Siblings Spouses Identifiers in database for the insured individuals and their dependents Children must have birth certificate or DNA testing to be considered dependent Linkable to ambulatory care visits, inpatient visits, prescription data, medical personnel databases, use of medical facilities, health screening data, welfare/society data, birth, death, and maternal data
Western Australia, Australia Western Australian Family Connections Genealogical Project Birth, death, and marriage registration Midwife records Hospital records Up to three generations A limited number of four-generation linkages are available Biological parent & child Siblings Spouses (not divorces) Primarily birth registrations supplemented with information from death, marriage, and midwife registrations Birth, death and marriage registrations, electoral roll, hospital morbidity, emergency department presentations, mental health information, midwives notifications, and cancers