Under the decree of November 6, 1995, regarding the National Registry Committee, a registry is defined as a continuous and comprehensive collection of personally identifiable data pertaining to one or more health events within a geographically defined population, maintained for research and public health purposes by a team with the appropriate expertise. In 1997, 28 registries received a favorable opinion from the National Committee on Registries: cancers (15), ischemic heart disease (3), congenital malformations (4), strokes (1), insulin-dependent diabetes (1), ectopic pregnancies (1), childhood disabilities (1), inflammatory bowel diseases (2). (adapted from the text).