The 15-year study will target people aged between 45 and 69

About 15,000 patients are to be recruited in Devon and Cornwall to take part in a 15-year study aimed at discovering the cause of many serious diseases.

Academics from the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth will be asking GPs to refer people who want to take part.

The study will target people aged between 45 and 69 to see if environmental factors in the South West have any impact on health.

The aim is to understand better how genes and lifestyle work together to affect people's health.

Health promotion

Regular blood samples will be taken from those who have agreed to take part in the voluntary scheme.

The results could improve health promotion, identify new diseases and see whether changes in behaviour make a difference to health.

Across the country, about 500,000 people will be recruited for the study, which will cost �45m.

A Peninsula Medical School spokesperson said: "Already Peninsula has an international reputation for excellence in the quality of its research."

School Dean, Professor John Tooke, said of the school: "It is exciting to be at the centre of an emergent progressive organisation, which through teaching and research is impacting upon so many lives across the UK."