Cyklus

What is the purpose of the survey?

“CYKLUS” is a research project that aims to contribute to knowledge about general health, symptoms, diseases and well-being. The research project includes individuals of all gender identities who were born female. Our focus is on diseases and symptoms such as bleeding disorders, pain, gynaecological diseases, migraine, functional symptoms and mental disorders.

Why is the survey necessary?

The survey is necessary because symptoms and diseases that occur more often among individuals born as women are under-studied. Several of these diseases are underdiagnosed in the Danish hospital system, and we know too little about the frequency, prevalence and causes of symptoms such as bleeding disorders, pain, gynaecological diseases, migraine, functional symptoms and mental disorders. It is therefore necessary that we obtain information on this.

What is the survey about?

In Denmark, information on diagnosed diseases is stored in the Danish health registers, but not all symptoms appear in the registers, and many people can have diseases and severe symptoms for many years before they receive a diagnosis. For some people the symptoms can be severely debilitating and result in significantly reduced quality of life, well-being and ability to work.

We do not know the frequency of these symptoms and diseases among individuals born as women. In order to investigate the frequency, prevalence and consequences, we therefore need to obtain information directly from citizens.

How does the survey take place?

Via ‘e-boks’, we are inviting approximately 60,000 randomly selected Danish women between the ages of 16 and 50 to participate in the survey. On the basis of the responses, we can determine the frequency of symptoms and diseases, and investigate their causes and consequences.

Participation in the survey is of course voluntary, and the questionnaire takes about 25-30 minutes to complete.

How will my data be processed?

All information will be treated in confidence. Your civil registration number (CPR number) will be used to link your answers to data in registers. From the registers, we can obtain information on your age, contact with the health service, diagnoses, medication details and socio-economic background, amongst other things. Your data will be stored in ‘non-directly identifiable form’.

Read more about how we process your data

Will the results of the survey be published?

All results, whether positive, negative or inconclusive, will be published and submitted for publication to reputable scientific journals.

We will only publish the results in anonymised form. Participants in the survey will never be named or be otherwise identifiable.

Who is behind the survey?

The project is funded by the EU. The steering group behind the research project is led by Associate Professor Dorte Rytter.

Any questions? If you have any questions about the project, you can contact us by e-mail: cyklus@ph.au.dk