Framingham Heart Study Cohort
Objectives:
The objectives of the Framingham Study are to study
the incidence and prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk
factors, trends in CVD incidence and its risk factors over time, and familial
patterns of CVD and risk factors. Other important objectives include the
estimation of incidence rates of disease and description of the natural history
of cardiovascular disease, including the sequence of clinical signs and systems
that precede the clinically recognizable syndrome and the consequences and
course of clinically manifest disease.
Background:
The Framingham Study began in 1948 under the U.S.
Public Health Service and was transferred under the direct operations of the
new National Heart Institute, NIH, in 1949. Participants were sampled from
Framingham, Massachusetts, including both men and women. This was the first
prospective study of cardiovascular disease and identified the concept of risk
factors and their joint effects. The study has continued to examine
participants every two years and is currently supported by a contract to Boston
University from the NHLBI, and from many grants for specialized studies.
Subjects:
At entry to the study in 1948-1952, the study
recruited 5,209 men and women, ages 28-62 years, living in Framingham, MA. As
of February 28, 1999, there are 993 surviving participants.
Design:
The Framingham Study is a longitudinal investigation
of constitutional and environmental factors influencing the development of CVD
in men and women. Examination of participants has taken place every two years
and the cohort has been followed for morbidity and mortality over that time
period.
The cardiovascular disease conditions under
investigation include coronary heart disease (angina pectoris, myocardial
infarction, coronary insufficiency and sudden and non-sudden death), stroke,
hypertension, peripheral arterial disease and congestive heart failure.
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Study Website |
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Study Documentation |
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Data Distribution Agreement |
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