Fig. 2

Study population and linked data sources in a pilot study linking human genomic data to relevant population-based observational data at the national level in Belgium. The diagram illustrates the relationship between the general population (grey), health survey participants (green), the health survey participants with an available blood sample and who gave consent for subsequent DNA analysis (blue), and cancer patients (orange). The study population (blue) is a representative sample drawn from the general population. For each individual in the study population, detailed information is available at the time of the survey year (i.e., 2018), including lifestyle factors collected from the health survey (Belgian Health Interview Survey, BELHIS), socio-economic and demographic characteristics obtained through the National Statistical Office (Statbel), genotyping results obtained through whole-genome sequencing of collected blood samples, and any eventual cancer diagnosis recorded in the Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR) during the period 2004–2022