Objectives

The objectives of the Jackson Heart Study are to: 1) investigate the associations of biological, psychosocial, and behavioral factors with the incidence atherosclerotic events and health outcomes in an African American cohort; and 2) increase access to and the participation of African American populations and scientists in biomedical research and professions.

Background

It has long been recognized that African Americans share a disproportionate burden of deleterious health outcomes including Diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease and early onset of cardiovascular disease. The Jackson Heart Study was initiated in 2000 to explore potential mechanisms and mediators of health outcomes in a large African American cohort. In addition, the JHS conducts a variety of community education and outreach activities to promote healthy lifestyles to reduce disease risk burden and student training programs to promote and support public health research.

Subjects

African American men and women, age 35-84 at entry. Of the 5301 cohort members enrolled in the study, the data repository contains data from 2062 that provided informed consent to share their data with investigators not affiliated with the study.

Design

Participants were enrolled in the study from 2000-2004 from urban and rural areas of the three counties (Hinds, Madison and Rankin) that make up the Jackson MS, metropolitan statistical area (MSA). Participants were enrolled from each of 4 recruitment pools: a random sample component (17%), volunteer component (30%), currently enrolled in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study (31%), and secondary family members (22%). Recruitment was limited to non-institutionalized adult African Americans 35-84 years old, except in the family cohort where those 21 to 34 years of age were eligible. The final cohort of 5,301 participants includes 6.59% of all African American Jackson MSA residents aged 35-84 (N-76,426, US Census 2000). Data collection at the baseline exam included a medical history, physical examination, blood/urine analytes and interview questions on areas such as: physical activity; stress, coping and spirituality; racism and discrimination; socioeconomic status; and health care access.

The current release of the Jackson Heart Study includes data collected at the baseline and visit 2 examinations. Jackson is an ongoing study and Eighty-two percent of the surviving JHS participants (N = 4203) completed Exam 2, and projected retention for Exam 3 is 80% (N = 4082). Annual cohort follow-up of the cohort for incident clinical events of interest is ongoing.

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