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About ProPass

The Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep consortium (ProPASS)

ProPASS is an international research collaboration platform focused on cohorts using thigh and wrist-worn accelerometry devices (“wearables”). ProPASS's main scientific aim is to explore the effects of multi-dimensional 24-hour physical activity, posture, and sleep patterns on a wide range of health outcomes. The objectives of the consortium are:

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To establish a pooled data resource on physical activity, posture allocation, sleep, and health outcomes

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To develop methods for processing, harmonising, and pooling wearables data 

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To support new international studies to collect wearables data, enabling prospective harmonisation

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To expand the evidence base of 24-hour physical activity, posture, and sleep to under-represented countries, including LMICs

The ultimate goal of the ProPASS consortium as a data resource is to promote collaborative individual participant, and prospective meta-analyses on physical activity, posture, and sleep.


At inception in 2017, ProPASS employed a focus on thigh-worn wearables. The tremendous progress in wearables measurement and signal processing standards has provided the opportunity to expand to studies of wrist-worn wearables. In mid-2023, ProPASS  initiated the expansion to wrist wearables studies which includes a rigorous program of methodological work on harmonising thigh and wrist captured data.

41

Cohorts

24

Countries

200,000

Sample Size

Strategic Leadership Group

The Strategic Leadership Group of the research consortium steers its overarching direction, ensuring alignment with its core mission, responsiveness to emerging priorities, and sustained relevance in a dynamic scientific landscape.

Working Group

The Working Group, comprising of core ProPASS collaborators each leading a pivotal workstream, collaboratively drives the development and advancement of the ProPASS consortium and executes strategic decisions made in the Strategic Leadership Group.

By joining ProPASS, a cohort will  

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Have 2 x co-authors invited in all ProPASS publications using their dataset. The potential of the resource to reach top journals is illustrated by our recent 2024 cross-sectional data resource publications in  Eur Heart J and Circulation 

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Gain free access to the ProPASS resource (currently 200k sample size and growing) to investigate your own projects (subject to application per project and some cohorts might request an access fee)

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Be supported with protocols, questionnaires, devices and training to support data collection in your study to enable prospective harmonisation of variables and easy integration into ProPASS

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Be part of the ProPASS network: invited to contribute to all ProPASS events, connected to all ProPASS members

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Be at the forefront of spearheading the transition of physical behaviour guidelines from self-report-based to wearable device-based evidence

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Join the first/only consortium of adult wearables

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Join the first/only prospective harmonisation initiative, i.e. we provide pre-harmonised questionnaires and protocols for data collection to your cohort which makes integration into ProPASS smooth upon finalised data collection  

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Be part of the development of cutting-edge methods of device-based measurements

The below outlined decision tree will help you navigate which of our two resources your cohort could contribute to.

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  1. Availability of longitudinal cardiometabolic health outcomes such as blood lipids, blood glucose, blood pressure, BMI, waist-circumference

  2. Availability of longitudinal incident disease outcomes such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer or availability of mortality outcomes

  3. Availability of linkage via external registers such as mortality records, hospital records, cancer registers

  4. Capacity to participate in what we call ‘2-stage meta-analysis approach” outside DataSHIELD: cohort runs script on their end, returns derived estimates to USyd

  5. The longitudinal resource could be a) on DataSHIELD, either at the cohort’s server or at the USyd server or b) via the 2-stage meta-analysis approach

  6. The cross-sectional pooled resource is based at USyd, requires cohorts to physically share their data, which will be harmonised, processed and pooled

For inclusion in the longitudinal resource

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Minimum sample size >500 participants, aged at least 30-35 

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Desired Accompanying covariates (not all are an eligibility requirement)

Possibility for linkage to (any of): 

  • EHR (Electronic Health/Medical Records) 

  • Mortality registry 

  • Hospital admissions and/or discharges 

  • General disease registries 

  • Cancer registries  

  • Medication or pharmacy registry 

 

Or at least one of the following:

Follow up cohort data collection waves  

  • longitudinal cardiometabolic health outcomes (e.g. blood lipids, blood glucose, blood pressure, BMI, waist-circumference)  

  • or incident disease (e.g. diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer) 

  • or mortality outcomes 

Optional

  • Health status  

  • Chronic conditions (incl. CVD and diabetes) 

  • Family history of CVD/T2D/Cancer 

  • Medication use (glycemic control/blood pressure/blood lipids) 

  • General health status 

  • Cardiometabolic outcomes (e.g., blood glucose/blood pressure/blood lipids) 

  • Frailty  

  • Self-reported physical activity and/or screen-time 

  • Sleep disorders  

  • Mental health status or cognitive impairment 

  • Diet (e.g., 24 hr recall or food frequency questionnaire) 

Essential

  • Sex

  • Age

  • Height

  • Weight

  • Education

  • Ethnicity

  • Alcohol

  • Smoking

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Population or community-based studies including occupational studies. Physical activity data from tri-axial thigh-worn or wrist-worn accelerometry in the form of raw accelerometer files (research grade or consumer grade). 

For the inclusion in the cross-sectional pooled Resource

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Population or community-based studies including occupational studies. Physical activity data from tri-axial thigh-worn or wrist-worn accelerometry in the form of raw accelerometer files (research grade or consumer grade). 

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Minimum sample size >500 participants, aged at least 30-35 years

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Desired Accompanying covariates (not all are an eligibility requirement)

Essential

  • Sex

  • Age

  • Height

  • Weight

  • Education

  • Ethnicity

  • Alcohol

  • Smoking

Optional

  • Health status  

  • Chronic conditions (incl. CVD and diabetes) 

  • Family history of CVD/T2D/Cancer 

  • Medication use (glycemic control/blood pressure/blood lipids) 

  • General health status 

  • Frailty  

  • Self-reported physical activity and/or screen-time 

  • Sleep disorders  

  • Mental health status or cognitive impairment 

  • Diet (e.g., 24 hr recall or food frequency questionnaire) 

And   
Availability of cross-sectional cardiometabolic health outcomes such as blood lipids, blood glucose, blood pressure, BMI, waist-circumference

Cohorts joining prospectively

No data collected yet? No problem!

As ProPASS is expanding, we are continuously welcoming new studies. Both with existing accelerometry data and those who haven't started their study yet. We are offering support throughout the whole process including devices, protocols and training.​

Get in touch to discuss your project and how we can support you.

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You can find our questionnaire for prospective harmonisation here: link to document

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You can find our standard operating procedure here: link to document

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