CHOICE KERGUELEN 1: Consequences of Longterm Confinement on Immunity in the Sub-Antarctic Islands: Inclusion of Volunteers Before Departure to the Kerguelen Islands

NCT07065253 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 49RC25-0245
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 9
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Living for long periods in extreme environments-like Antarctic research stations or space missions-can have a significant impact on human health, especially on the immune system. Scientists have observed that people in such isolated conditions often experience more infections and a reactivation of viruses that usually stay dormant in the body, such as Herpes viruses. These changes affect both parts of the immune system: the rapid-response "innate" system and the slower, more specific "adaptive" system. These immune disruptions may be caused by multiple stressors: ongoing psychological stress, disturbed sleep and light cycles (circadian rhythm disruption), and the challenges of living in confined, isolated, and extreme environments. While space missions and Antarctic overwintering programs have provided some insight into these issues, scientists still lack a detailed understanding of how the immune system adapts-or fails to adapt-over time in such conditions. To help fill this gap, the CHOICE Kerguelen 1 study will recrut a group of healthy young adults who will spend one year (from November 2025 to November 2026) in Port-aux-Français, a remote French research station on the Kerguelen Islands in the sub-Antarctic. These volunteers are participating in a civic service program and will be living in a highly isolated environment for the duration of their mission. The CHOICE Kerguelen 1 study is conducted in collaboration with the French Polar Institute (IPEV).The goal of the study is to collect and store a broad range of biological samples-including blood, saliva, stool, urine, and hair-from these volunteers before they leave for the island, to have baseline medical state and baseline biological samples. These samples will integrate in to healthy volunteer biobank of CHU Angers, a type of biological archive that provided control samples for CHOICE Kerguelen 2 - a clinical study relating to follow-up of volunteers during civic service on the Kerguelen Islands

Conditions

Human Health in Extreme Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Blood samples

  Blood samples

  At inclusion (before overwintering)

• Saliva samples

  Saliva samples

  At inclusion (before overwintering)

• Urine samples.

  morning urine samples.

  At inclusion (before overwintering)

• Hair samples

  Hair samples

  At inclusion (before overwintering)

• Stool samples

  Stool samples

  At inclusion (before overwintering)

Study Arms (1)

HD (healthy donors)

Other: blood ponction; Other: urines collection; Other: hair collection; Other: saliva collection; Other: stools collection

Interventions

hair collection OTHER

hair collection

HD (healthy donors)

saliva collection OTHER

saliva collection

HD (healthy donors)

stools collection OTHER

stools collection

HD (healthy donors)

blood ponction OTHER

blood ponction

HD (healthy donors)

urines collection OTHER

urines collection

HD (healthy donors)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

French civic service volunteer

You may qualify if:

• healthy people aged \> 18 years
• Participant affiliated with or benefiting from a social security system
• Participant has signed informed consent
• Participant staying as an overwintering member at Kerguelen from November 2025 to November 2026

You may not qualify if:

• age \< 18 years
• Pregnant, breastfeeding, or postpartum woman
• immunocompromised people (primary immunodeficiency, HIV infection or immunosupressive treatment)
• Person refusing to participate in the study
• Person with a history of autoimmune disease - -Person deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision
• Person undergoing involuntary psychiatric treatment
• Person subject to a legal protection measure

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Hospital, Angers: lead
• Institut Polaire Français Paul-Emile Victor (IPEV): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Paul Emile Victor Polar Institute

Plouzané, 29280, France

Location

Biospecimen

Retention: SAMPLES WITH DNA

whole blood, PBMCs, plasma, serum, urine, saliva, stools, hair

Study Officials

• Charline MIOT

  University Hospital, Angers

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER GOV
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 3, 2025
• First Posted: July 15, 2025
• Study Start: September 25, 2025
• Primary Completion: September 25, 2025
• Study Completion: September 25, 2025
• Last Updated: December 5, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL
• Time Frame: The data will be shared after signing a negotiated data transfer agreement ( data access agreement), for the duration specified in the agreement.
• Access Criteria: The data will be made available via secure transfer (sharing platform approved by the university hospital: BlueFiles or Oodrive).

Locations

FR (1)