The Bogalusa Heart Study (BHS)
Objectives:
To investigate the early natural history of
cardiovascular disease in a cohort of children and young adults in a biracial,
semirural community.
Background:
Lifestyle attributes such as tobacco use, physical
inactivity, and a high-fat, high calorie diet, begin in childhood and are
established risk factors for cardiovascular disease. While clinical
cardiovascular disease occurs later in life, the characteristics of
atherosclerosis, hypertension and diabetes can be present in childhood. The
Bogalusa Heart Study began in 1973 as a long term study of the early natural
history of cardiovascular disease in a semirural parish of Bogalusa, Louisiana.
More than 16,000 individuals, many with multiple exams, have participated in
the Bogalusa Heart Study. Subjects have ranged in age from birth to 38
years.
Subjects:
The Bogalusa limited access dataset includes 11,796 participants that attended at
least one of seven cross-sectional pediatric exams and/or the 1995-96 adult examination.
Subjects were ranged in age from 3 to 20 years at the pediatric exams and 20-37 at the
time of the adult exam.
Design:
The examination included standardized questionnaires
to determine education, occupation, smoking habits, family medical history,
reproductive history, and physical activity. Examination components include
blood pressure, anthropometry, lipid profile, and other blood lab values.
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