Less than four years after the NIH launched the largest long-term health study of Hispanic/Latino populations, researchers at the four sites, including the University of Miami, have published their first papers. The research appears in the August issue of Annals of Epidemiology.

The first study titled "Design and Implementation of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos" examines the rationale behind the study, the objectives, design and how it will be implemented. Neil Schneiderman, Ph.D., professor of psychology, and Leopoldo Raij, M.D., professor of medicine, were authors on the paper.

The second study titled "Sample Design and Cohort Selection in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos" looked at the sample design and cohort selection for a study designed to recruit and follow a cohort of 16,000 Hispanics/Latinos ages 18 to 74. David J. Lee, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and public health, and John Ryan, Dr.PH., research associate professor of family medicine and community health, were authors on the paper.

"Data thus far have been collected on more than 10,000 of the 16,000 participants in the largest health study ever conducted upon Hispanic/Latinos in the United States," said Schneiderman, the James L. Knight Professor of Psychology, Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Miami. "The study is examining differences and similarities in health risks, practices, and outcomes in peoples from different Hispanic/Latino backgrounds." Schneiderman is principal investigator of the Miami Field Center of the study.

The six-and-a-half year, $61 million Hispanic Community Health Study is designed to follow participants over time and broaden the scope of the current research available on the health of Hispanics. Miami is one of four study sites, along with San Diego, the Bronx, and Chicago. Participants in selected neighborhoods are invited to take part based on Census Bureau data. The chosen communities are more than 86 percent Hispanic.

"We already have 2,457 people enrolled in the study in Miami, and some are already in their second year of follow-up," said Marc Gellman, Ph.D., research associate professor of psychology and associate director for administration of the University of Miami's Behavioral Medicine Research Center. "Recruitment will continue through June of next year, and we are right on target to enroll the appropriate number of patients needed for our arm of the study."

On the seventh floor of the Miller School's Clinical Research Building in several new medical suites, each participant undergoes a battery of testing in areas including physical health, hearing, lung function and psychology. The medical infrastructure in place for the study has resulted in new funding opportunities.

"There have been several ancillary studies that have been funded off the main study and we are in a perfect position to take advantage of those opportunities," said Gellman.

For example, Frank Penedo, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, has received part of a $2.5 million stimulus grant awarded to the four community health study sites. The new study is titled "Ancillary to Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos: Sociocultural Factors and CVD Risk/Prevalence in Hispanics." Using data from the already recruited participants, the study will examine the associations among socioeconomic status and the development of cardiovascular risk factors.

Additional information tailored for researchers and professionals is available at the national study scientific website.  For information about the field centers, please visit the community study webpage or the Miami Field Center Blog.