‘I help HELIUS because I realize that good health is one of the most important things in live. And I am very well aware of the fact that a better health care can only be achieved by knowledge. With the knowledge of the HELIUS study, AMC and GGD Amsterdam are able to make adjustments to medical health care and develop prevention programmes to meet the specific needs of Ghanaians in Amsterdam. Please help HELIUS to pave the way to better health care for our children and grandchildren.’

Veronica van de Kamp


HELIUS

We know there are large health differences among the various population groups in Amsterdam. For example, we know that people of Hindustani-Surinamese origin are more likely to develop diabetes, and that high blood pressure is more common among Ghanaians and Afro-Surinamese people than it is among the ethnic Dutch. We also see a chronic disease like asthma more often in people of Turkish and Moroccan origin.

However, we know little or nothing about the causes of these health differences. Knowledge about this is urgently needed so that health problems can be dealt with more appropriately. An example: doctors have seen that treatment for lowering high blood pressure is not as effective for some population groups as it is for ethnic Dutch people. Once we know what causes this, we can target the treatment in a much more focused way. Then health care services in Amsterdam will also be better able to adapt their prevention efforts to what is needed. And when we know why there is less cardiovascular disease among Moroccans than among the ethnic Dutch we will have made a great leap forward in treating and preventing these diseases.

This is why the Academic Medical Center (AMC) and the Public Health Service of Amsterdam (GGD Amsterdam) started the HELIUS study in 2010. HELIUS stands for ‘Healthy Life in an Urban Setting’, and does research into the causes of many common chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease (including diabetes) and infectious diseases. HELIUS also studies the mental health of the different groups.

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For more information about the HELIUS project.
You can  sent an email to: info@heliusstudie.nl