National Study Will Include Mexican-Americans in San Diego County

Three medical facilities in San Diego on Thursday were chosen to participate in a national study of Hispanic/Latino health, the largest national study ever to address Hispanics/Latinos specifically, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Researchers at the University of California-San Diego, San Diego State University and San Ysidro Health Center will track 4,000 Mexican-American San Diego County residents. The study, called the National Hispanic Community Health Study, will last almost seven years and will include information on:

Cuban-Americans in Miami;
Puerto Rican-Americans in New York; and
U.S. residents of Central or South American descent in Chicago.

Dr. Greg Talavera of San Diego State will oversee part of the study. He said the primary focus of the research is to investigate the "Hispanic Paradox," a theory that Hispanics/Latinos live longer than non-Hispanic whites but have higher incidences of obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol levels.

At the UCSD Medical Center, doctors will examine causes of:

Asthma;
Heart disease;
Liver and kidney disease;
Lung and sleep disorders; and
Stroke.

Researchers also will evaluate how study participants' health is affected by occupations, exposure to pollutants, and other sociological issues such as culture and shopping habits.

After an initial assessment and an overnight sleep study, participants must agree to follow-up phone surveys on an annual basis, even if they relocate (Clark, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/13).

Broadcast Coverage

KPBS' "KPBS News" on Thursday reported on the grant. The segment includes comments from George Talavera, a professor at SDSU (Tintocalis, "KPBS News," KPBS, 10/12). The complete transcript is available online.

The complete segment is available online in Windows Media.

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