BOGALUSA — The Bogalusa Heart Study is currently conducting a genealogy-based Family Tree Study with research into the family background of participants. This ties into information gathered by the present Longevity Study, which might also be called the study of aging.
Participants in the Longevity Study have been a part of the Heart Study since they were children and have been tracked as they age. The information gathered shows the effects of aging on their bodies, valuable in-put especially into the study of the changes which take place in the heart, the point of the world-renown Tulane University research program.
|
Advertisement |
"More people don't know about their family tree," said Director Dr. Gerald Berenson. "Everybody needs to go to their family Bible and find out."
Dr. Berenson said they look at the family tree like a score for the family. Some families have many members who die at an early age with heart disease, and others have people who live a long time with no apparent heart problems.
"We take the family data we can gather and relate it to the data we have on the current participants. If a person is lucky enough to come from a family which lives a long time, chances are they will live a long time, but it's not perfect, it's just a clue," Dr. Berenson said. "Ten years ago we did a similar study by asking participants about family members who were above 85 or 90 when they died. The analysis was not good because they were usually several generations apart. Now that they are older, we can make it more powerful."
The first page of the inquiry is basically a family tree chart, with a formula for each person, including information on the participant's father, mother, grandparents and great-grandparents on each side of the family.
They also want to know about the aunts and uncles on both sides — the siblings of the participant's parents. If they are living, their age; or their age at death, what year they died, the state they live in now or when they died.
On the next page, they are asked about the health of each of these people: whether they have suffered a heart attack, had an angioplasty (balloon or stent), severe chest pain, high blood pressure, stroke or diabetes and at what age they experienced these traumas.
These questions are also asked about the grandparents and their siblings, but for the great-grandparents they only ask a small amount of information, including whether or not they are still living or if deceased, at what age they died.
According to Sabrina Knight, RN, who is in charge of gathering the information for the family tree, many of the parents of the heart study participants are still living and can help them with the information.
To make sure each participant fills out these pages, they are eligible for $25 when they submit a completed form. It is very important to the research that the information be complete. If there is something the participant doesn't know, it should be indicated on the sheet.
She said they get some sheets back very complete with a good family history, and others have blank after blank empty, with only information on the parents. They can also add things not asked for on the information sheets, including whether they are smokers or non-smokers, since this plays such a large part in having a healthy heart.
Knight keeps up with all the participants, and explains the process to them and the importance of complete information to the research.
Dr. Berenson noted that everyone, even those outside the heart study, should start keeping a record of their family illnesses, especially the causes of deaths, as it can be very helpful later on for others in the family circle.
Comments