Data Resource Profile: The Statistics of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) Biobank Project

Abstract

The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) is a representative survey of the Korean population, providing evidence for health policy and health interest statistics. The survey is conducted annually, and the 10th cycle, 1st year (2025) survey is currently underway. In health examination of KNHANES, blood samples are collected from people aged 10 years or older, and urine samples are collected from people aged 6 years or older. To support research related to various public health concerns based on the general population, the National Bank of Korea (NBK) has been operating the KNHANES biobank project since 2005 and has distributed high-quality biospecimens collected through KNHANES. To date, biospecimens from a total of 95,455 participants have been deposited, with approximately 35,500 biospecimens available as of December 2024. This biobank provides serum, plasma, and extracted DNA to researchers in officially approved projects. Recently, urine specimens have also become available. Additionally, genotyping data (> 833,000 genetic markers) for ~19,300 participants generated from the KoreanChip are available. The vast epidemiological data linkage derived from KNHANES will provide valuable insights into public health issues. Researchers can access the resource through NBK's online platform (HuBIS_Desk, https://biobank.nih.go.kr/Desk/).