Researchers Find Moderate Vascular Risk in Southwest Native Population
Apr 21, 2016
Pilot Study Examines Cognition, Depressive Symptoms and Vascular Factors among Southwest Tribal Elders
Brooklyn, NY – In a newly published, pilot study in the journal Ethnicity & Disease, researchers report a relatively low prevalence of vascular risk among participants of the Southwest Heart Mind Study, especially among those treated for hypertension and hyperlipidemia despite overweight and obesity.
Researchers Deborah Gustafson, PhD, MS, and Francine Gachupin, PhD, MPH, led the research team comprising both academic researchers and tribal program personnel. The research results were gained from culturally fair instruments and the collection of several biomarkers (physical measurements, blood chemistries, etc.). The research identified cognitive and depressive symptoms as well as cardiovascular, lifestyle, and demographic factors of 37 Southwest Tribal elders aged 55 years and older.
Dr. Gustafson is professor of neurology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and Dr. Gachupin is assistant director of the University of Arizona Cancer Center’s Cancer Health Disparities Program and the Native American Research and Training Center.
The researchers note that American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities in
the United States are aging; the older AIAN population (Non-Hispanic and Hispanic)
was 212,605 in 2007 and is projected to reach almost 918,000 by 2050. The Southwest
US is home to most AI communities. Accompanying aging is a profound increase in vascular
and metabolic diseases – many due to obesity. Among AIANs, the study team expects
to identify 23,850 persons age 65 years and older as having had dementia in 2010,
a number they expect to increase to 100,980 by 2050.
The researchers conducted a pilot survey, the Southwest Heart Mind Study (SHMS), to
ascertain the feasibility of assessing cognitive and depressive symptoms, and cardiovascular,
lifestyle, and demographic factors. They measured demographic, social network, and
risk factor surveys; tests of cognition, depression and anxiety; physical measurements;
blood biochemistries; and APOE genotyping. The Southwest Tribe within the study is
from the Albuquerque Area (AA) of the Indian Health Service. At the time of this survey
there were 19% (16,293/86,000) of individuals age 50 years and older in the AA. These
pilot data form the basis for future investigations.
The article is published in the spring 2016 issue of Ethnicity & Disease, a scholarly journal dedicated to publishing research on the causal and the associative relationships of disease among ethnic populations. The SHMS was supported by the National Institutes of Health, Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) U26 IHS 300287/01. An abstract of the article is available at: https://ethndis.org/edonline/index.php/ethndis/article/view/227 .
Researcher Contact Information
Deborah Gustafson, PhD; deborahrgustafson@gmail.com, (347) 536-4865
Francine Gachupin, PhD; fcgachupin@email.arizona.edu, (520) 621-5072
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research
and health professions training. The UA Health Sciences includes the UA Colleges of
Medicine (Phoenix and Tucson), Nursing, Pharmacy and Mel and Enid Zuckerman College
of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the growing Phoenix Biomedical
Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, the UA Health Sciences reaches
across the state of Arizona and the greater Southwest to provide cutting-edge health
education, research, patient care and community outreach services. A major economic
engine, the UA Health Sciences employs almost 5,000 people, has nearly 1,000 faculty
members and garners more than $126 million in research grants and contracts annually.
For more information: http://uahs.arizona.edu
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.