Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity Across the Life Span (HANDLS) Wave 3

The Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span study (HANDLS) is a multidisciplinary, community-based, prospective longitudinal epidemiologic study examining the influences of race and socioeconomic status (SES) on the development of age-related health disparities among socioeconomically diverse African Americans and whites in Baltimore. This study investigates whether health disparities develop or persist due to differences in SES, differences in race, or their interaction. This study is unique because it will assess over a 20-year period physical parameters as well as evaluate genetic, biologic, demographic, and psychosocial parameters of African American and white participants in higher and lower SES. It also employs novel research tools, mobile medical research vehicles, in hopes of improving participation rates and retention among non-traditional research participants. The domains of the HANDLS study include: nutrition, cognition, biologic biomarkers, body composition and bone quality, physical function and performance, sociodemographics, psychosocial, neighborhood environment and cardiovascular disease. Utilizing data from these study domains will facilitate understand the driving factors behind persistent black-white health disparities in overall longevity, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline.

HANDLS Wave 1, the initial recruitment and examination phase that began in August 2004, is complete. The current protocol outlines the revisit waves of this study HANDLS Wave, 2 entitled, The Association of Personality and Socioeconomic status with Health Status - An Interim Follow-up Study, which began in June 2006 under a separate protocol is designed as a telephone interview to occur approximately 18 months after the first visit to the mobile Medical Research Vehicles (MRVs). Wave 2 provides interim contact with study participants, and important interim information regarding their health. The next visit HANDLS Wave 3 will consist of the second visit to the mobile Medical Research Vehicles (MRVs) for a health examination to occur at least 3 years after the first, a telephone interview to include the dietary interview and questionnaires, and for a random sample of those who participate in the revisit a direct measurement of renal function and a brain scan study using M RI to examine the structure of the brain.