CoMorMent · Project

Predicting Heart Disease Risk in Mental Health Patients Using Genetics and Big Data

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comorment.uio.no

People with serious mental health conditions like depression or schizophrenia are far more likely to develop heart problems — but doctors don't have good tools to predict who's most at risk. CoMorMent dug into the genetics and lifestyle data of over 1.8 million people across seven countries to figure out why this happens. They found that some of the same genes that affect the brain also push people toward unhealthy habits like poor diet and smoking, which then damage the heart. The team built prediction tools that can flag which mental health patients are headed for cardiovascular trouble, so doctors can step in earlier.

By the numbers

1.8 million

People covered by linked biobank and registry data

1 million+

Participants with individual genotype and phenotype data in coordinated analysis infrastructure

Partner institutions in the consortium

Countries represented in the consortium

Total project deliverables produced

Industry partners in the consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

People with severe mental disorders die 15-20 years earlier than the general population, largely due to cardiovascular disease — but healthcare providers and insurers have no reliable way to predict which patients will develop heart problems. Current risk models don't account for the genetic and behavioral links between mental illness and cardiovascular risk, leaving a major gap in preventive care and cost management.

The solution

What was built

CoMorMent delivered a secure distributed data platform for cross-country analysis, analytical tools for large-scale genetic analysis and imputation, and infrastructure for coordinated analysis of genotypes and phenotypes from over 1 million participants. The team also developed prediction and stratification tools tested in clinical samples to identify cardiovascular risk in mental health patients.

Audience

Who needs this

Health insurance companies pricing policies for members with psychiatric conditionsDigital health platforms adding cardiovascular risk prediction to mental health modulesPharmaceutical companies designing clinical trials for psychiatric or cardiac drugsNational health services seeking to reduce cardiovascular mortality in mental health patientsPrecision medicine startups building genetic risk scoring products

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Health Insurance & Actuarial Services

enterprise

Target: Health insurers and reinsurance companies managing mental health portfolios

If you are a health insurer struggling to price policies for members with mental health conditions — this project developed prediction tools validated on data from over 1.8 million people that identify which mental health patients are most likely to develop cardiovascular disease. This could sharpen your risk models and reduce unexpected claims costs by flagging high-risk members before costly cardiac events occur.

Digital Health & Clinical Decision Support

mid-size

Target: Companies building clinical decision-support software or electronic health record platforms

If you are a digital health company looking to add predictive features to your platform — CoMorMent built analytical tools for large-scale genotype-phenotype analysis and a secure distributed data platform tested across 7 countries. Integrating these risk stratification algorithms into your EHR or telehealth product could differentiate your offering in the growing precision psychiatry market.

Pharmaceutical & Clinical Trials

enterprise

Target: Pharma companies developing cardiovascular or psychiatric drugs

If you are a pharmaceutical company running clinical trials for cardiac or psychiatric medications — CoMorMent identified shared molecular mechanisms between mental disorders and cardiovascular disease using data from 11 partner institutions. Their genetic risk variants and stratification tools could help you select better trial cohorts, reduce dropout rates, and design combination therapies targeting both conditions.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or access CoMorMent's prediction tools?

The project was publicly funded under Horizon 2020 as a Research and Innovation Action, so core analytical tools and methods are likely available through academic licensing or open-access agreements. Specific commercial licensing terms would need to be negotiated directly with the coordinator at University of Oslo. Budget details are not available in the dataset.

Can these tools work at industrial scale with real patient populations?

CoMorMent's infrastructure was designed to handle coordinated analysis of individual genotypes and phenotypes from more than 1 million participants across multiple countries. The secure distributed data platform operates across computing clusters in each participating country, suggesting it was built for large-scale real-world deployment.

What intellectual property exists and who owns it?

IP is likely shared among the 11-partner consortium across 7 countries, with the University of Oslo as coordinator. The project produced 35 deliverables including analytical tools and a data platform. Specific IP arrangements would need to be clarified with the consortium, but RIA projects typically allow partners to exploit their own results.

Does this comply with healthcare data regulations like GDPR?

The project built a secure data platform specifically designed for distributed data analysis, meaning patient-level data stays in each country's secure computing cluster rather than being centralized. This architecture was designed to work across 7 countries including EU members, suggesting GDPR compliance was built into the design from the start.

How long before these tools could be integrated into a clinical or commercial product?

The project ran from 2020 to 2024 and is now closed. Prediction tools were tested and validated in clinical samples during the project. However, moving from validated research tools to a certified commercial product would require additional regulatory steps depending on your market and intended use.

Can these tools integrate with existing hospital or insurance IT systems?

CoMorMent delivered state-of-the-art analytical tools for imputation and large-scale genotype-phenotype analysis, plus a secure distributed data platform. These were designed as research infrastructure, so integration with commercial EHR or insurance systems would likely require adaptation work, but the underlying algorithms and risk models are transferable.

Consortium

Who built it

The CoMorMent consortium brings together 11 partners across 7 countries (Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, UK, and US), giving it strong Nordic and transatlantic reach. With 4 industry partners (36% industry ratio) including 2 SMEs alongside 6 universities, it balances academic rigor with commercial awareness. The coordinator, University of Oslo, is a leading European research institution. The multinational spread means the tools were tested across different healthcare systems and regulatory environments, which strengthens their adaptability for commercial deployment in diverse European markets.

UNIVERSITETET I OSLOCoordinator · NO
REGION HOVEDSTADENparticipant · DK
TARTU ULIKOOLparticipant · EE
PRECISION HEALTH ASparticipant · NO
OSLO UNIVERSITETSSYKEHUS HFthirdparty · NO
ISLENSK ERFDAGREINING EHFparticipant · IS
CORTECHS LABS INCparticipant · US
KAROLINSKA INSTITUTETparticipant · SE
HASKOLI ISLANDSparticipant · IS
THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGHparticipant · UK

How to reach the team

University of Oslo (Norway) — reach the project coordinator through the university's research office or the CoMorMent project website contact page

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSITETET I OSLO profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how CoMorMent's cardiovascular risk prediction tools could fit your insurance, pharma, or digital health product? SciTransfer can arrange an introduction to the research team and help evaluate commercial licensing options.

Order a report on this topic More in Health & Biomedical