The Jackson Heart Study (JHS) is a single site investigation of causes of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in 5300 African-Americans from Jackson, MS. The JHS was initiated in 1998 as a collaborative effort among three Jackson-area academic institutions. At the close of the current contracts in May 2013, the JHS will have completed three back-to-back cohort examinations that have produced extensive longitudinal data on traditional and putative CVD risk factors, socioeconomic and sociocultural factors and biochemical analytes;measures of subclinical disease from echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) scans of the heart, aorta and abdomen;and stored biological samples. Eighty percent of the JHS participants completed Exam 2;projected retention for Exam 3 is 86%. In addition, the JHS has conducted annual cohort follow-up contacts for incident clinical events of interest, a variety of community education and outreach activities to promote healthy lifestyles to reduce disease risk burden, and level-appropriate training programs to promote and support public health research for undergraduates, high school students, and health professionals. This service requirement is to continue the collection of morbidity and mortality data of the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) cohort participants, maintain contact with the JHS cohort participants;provide the Jackson, Mississippi community with public health information and to provide a training/educational resource to encourage minority students to become public health/epidemiology investigators.
