The Rotterdam Study is an ongoing prospective, population-based cohort study that started in 1989 in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The study aims to unravel etiology, preclinical course, natural history and potential targets for intervention for chronic diseases in mid-life and late-life. It focuses on cardiovascular, endocrine, hepatic, neurological, ophthalmic, psychiatric, dermatological, otolaryngological, locomotor, and respiratory diseases. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a substudy was designed and embedded within the Rotterdam Study. On the 20th of April, 2020, all living non-institutionalized participants of the Rotterdam Study (n = 8732) were invited to participate in this sub-study by filling out a series of questionnaires administered over a period of 8 months. These questionnaires included questions on COVID-19 related symptoms and risk factors, characterization of lifestyle and mental health changes, and determination of health care seeking and health care avoiding behavior during the pandemic. As of May 2021, the questionnaire had been sent out repeatedly for a total of six times with an overall response rate of 76%. This article provides an overview of the rationale, design, and implementation of this sub-study nested within the Rotterdam Study. Finally, initial results on participant characteristics and prevalence of COVID-19 in this community-dwelling population are shown.

鹿特丹研究是一项持续的前瞻性、基于人群的队列研究，于 1989 年在荷兰鹿特丹市开始。该研究旨在阐明病因、临床前过程、自然史和中年和晚年慢性病的潜在干预目标。它专注于心血管、内分泌、肝脏、神经、眼科、精神科、皮肤科、耳鼻喉科、运动和呼吸系统疾病。为应对 COVID-19 大流行，鹿特丹研究设计并嵌入了一项子研究。2020 年 4 月 20 日，鹿特丹研究的所有在世非机构化参与者（n = 8732) 被邀请通过填写一系列为期 8 个月的问卷调查来参与这项子研究。这些问卷包括关于 COVID-19 相关症状和风险因素的问题、生活方式和心理健康变化的特征以及大流行期间寻求医疗保健和避免医疗保健行为的确定。截至 2021 年 5 月，该问卷已重复发出 6 次，总体回复率为 76%。本文概述了该子研究嵌套在鹿特丹研究中的基本原理、设计和实施。最后，显示了该社区居民中参与者特征和 COVID-19 流行率的初步结果。