Design and Implementation of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Sorlie, Paul D.; Avilés-Santa, Larissa M.; Wassertheil-Smoller, Sylvia; Kaplan, Robert C.; Daviglus, Martha L.; Giachello, Aida L.; Schneiderman, Neil; Raij, Leopoldo; Talavera, Gregory; Allison, Matthew; LaVange, Lisa; Chambless, Lloyd E.; Heiss, Gerardo

doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2010.03.015

« Previous Next »Annals of Epidemiology
Volume 20, Issue 8 , Pages 629-641, August 2010

Design and Implementation of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Paul D. Sorlie, PhD
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
- Address correspondence to: Paul D. Sorlie, PhD, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Epidemiology Branch, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 10210, MSC 7936, Bethesda, MD 20892. Tel.: +1-301-435-0456; Fax: +1-301-480-1455.
Larissa M. Avilés-Santa, MD, MPH
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, PhD
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
Robert C. Kaplan, PhD
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
Martha L. Daviglus, MD, PhD
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Aida L. Giachello, PhD
- Midwest Latino Health Research, Training and Policy Center, University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago, IL
Neil Schneiderman, PhD
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL
Leopoldo Raij, MD
- Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL
Gregory Talavera, MD, MPH
- Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Matthew Allison, MD, MPH
- Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Lisa LaVange, PhD
- Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center, Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Lloyd E. Chambless, PhD
- Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center, Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Gerardo Heiss, MD, PhD
- Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center, Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC

Received 5 January 2010; accepted 3 March 2010.

Purpose

The Hispanic Community Health Study (HCHS)/Study of Latinos (SOL) is a comprehensive multicenter community based cohort study of Hispanics/Latinos in the United States.

Methods

The Study rationale, objectives, design, and implementation are described in this report.

Results

The HCHS/SOL will recruit 16,000 men and women who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino, 18 to 74 years of age, from a random sample of households in defined communities in the Bronx, Chicago, Miami, and San Diego. The sites were selected so that the overall sample would consist of at least 2000 persons in each of the following origin designations: Mexican, Puerto Rican and Dominican, Cuban, and Central and South American. The study includes research in the prevalence of and risk factors for heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders, kidney and liver function, diabetes, cognitive function, dental conditions, and hearing disorders.

Conclusions

The HCHS/SOL will (1) characterize the health status and disease burden in the largest minority population in the United States; (2) describe the positive and negative consequences of immigration and acculturation of Hispanics/Latinos to the mainstream United States life-styles, environment and health care opportunities; and (3) identify likely causal factors of many diseases in a population with diverse environmental exposures, genetic backgrounds, and early life experiences.

Key Words: Epidemiologic Methods, Cardiovascular Disease, Risk Factors, Hispanics, Acculturation

Selected Abbreviations and Acronyms: ALT, alanine transaminase, AHA/ACC, American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology, AHI, apnea-hypopnea index, AST, aspartate aminotransferase, ARES, apnea risk evaluation system, CBC, complete blood count, CRP, c-reactive protein, DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, ECG, electrocardiogram, ED, emergency department, FEV1, forced expiratory volume in one second, FPQ, food propensity questionnaire, FVC, forced vital capacity, HCHS/SOL, Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, HCV, hepatitis C virus, HDL, high density lipoprotein, HEE, hearing examination (questionnaire), HX, history, NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NHLBI, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NINDS, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test, RNA, ribonucleic acid, SBP, systolic blood pressure, SF-12, standard form 12 items, TOAST, trial of ORG10172 in acute stroke treatment, UIBC, unsaturated iron binding capacity, WAIS-R, Wechsler Adult intelligence Scale-Revised