National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Two Rockledge Center, Room 6122, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-7902

A -- JACKSON HEART STUDY POC Donna Berkowitz, Contracting Officer, (301) 435-0349 The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute plans to negotiate with four educational institutions for a seven-year, longitudinal population-based study on African-Americans in Jackson, Mississippi. Three of the educational institutions are located in Jackson, MS: The University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson State University, and Tougaloo College. The fourth is the University of North Carolina. The Jackson Heart Study (JHS) is a joint initiative between the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Research and Minority Health (ORMH) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), NIH. The purpose of the study is to expand the existing longitudinal, population-based study on cardiovascular disease, entitled the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC). The study will also expand epidemiologic research capabilities in minority educational institutions located in Jackson. One of the four ARIC field sites is in Jackson, MS. The JHS will continue to examine the ARIC cohortof African-Americans in Jackson, and will expand the cohort by recruiting additional African-Americans from the Jackson area. Epidemiology research capabilities will be expanded in the two minority institutions located in Jackson, MS: Jackson State University and Tougaloo College. The objectives of the Jackson Heart Study are to 1) create a single location cohort study of cardiovascular diseases in Afric an-Americans, 2) create partnerships between minority and majority educational institutions, and 3) expand the participation of minority institutions conducting epidemiologic research and in training African-American students for careers in Epidemiology and Public Health. The anticipated period of contract performance for the JHS is from 1998 through 2004, with a two-year feasibility study followed by a five-year full study. Specific milestones and standards will be established for the feasibility study. An ad hoc peer review panel will evaluate the contractors' performance against the milestones and standards. The decision to proceed with the full study will be based on the contractors' successfully meeting these requirements. Heart disease and stroke remain the first and third leading killers of all Americans, including African-Americans and non-minorities. Cardiovascular disease has been identified as a major health problem experienced by a disproportionate share of minority Americans. Lack of longitudinal, population-based data on African-Americans has long presented an obstacle to understanding the reasons for the excessive burden of cardiovascular disease in this minority group. Central to the Jackson Heart Study is conti nued examination and follow-up of the African-American cohort in Jackson, MS, established for the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC). During 1984-1985, the NHLBI issued a solicitation and awarded a contract to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMC) to recruit, examine, and follow a cohort of 3,500 African-Americans, aged 45-64 at entry. Since 1987, the UMC has also collected morbidity and mortality data on 74,000 persons in the Jackson community. The ARIC Coordinating Center at the University of North Carolina has collected, stored, and analyzed clinical data from the Jackson, MS, cohort and ARIC's three other field centers, two reading centers, and lipid and hemostasis laboratories since 1985. In the Jackson Heart Study, the role of the minority educational institutions will be to 1) establish a center for epidemiologic studies, 2) establish a clinical coordinating center for the JHS at the Jackson State University, 3) collaborate in the analysis and publication of data on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in African-Americans from the Jackson ARIC cohort, and 4) recruit a companion cohort of subjects not originally recruited into ARIC including those more than 70 and less than 50 years of age, families, and majority members. The University of Mississippi Medical College will continue to examine the ARIC cohort and, in addition, will examine new participants from the Jackson community. The new participants will be recruited by the minority educational institutions. The University of North Carolina will assist Jackson State University in transferring the ARIC Jackson data base to Jackson, MS, provide training on the use of the entire ARIC data base, and help establish the clinical coordinating center for the Jackson Heart Study. The Jackson community, with its stable, cooperative population, the participation of community members in the ARIC Jackson cohort, the large community morbidity and mortality data base collected by UMC for the ARIC study, and two minority educational institutions provide the ideal setting for accomplishing the NHLBI and the ORMH's objectives. The NHLBI requires the UMC to continue to examine and follow the ARIC Jackson cohort and to augment this cohort by examining new participants from the Jackson communi ty. Jackson State University and Tougaloo College are the only minority educational institutions located in Jackson and are central to the NIH, Office of Research and Minority Health's goal of expanding epidemiologic research in minority educational institutions in Jackson. In addition, JSU and Tougaloo have solid affiliations with the UMC that are essential to establishing a minority epidemiology center in Jackson. The University of North Carolina developed the clinical data collection and storage methods fo r ARIC study and has analyzed ARIC's large clinical data base, which includes 14,500 participants. UNC's experience with the ARIC data base, including the ARIC Jackson cohort and community morbidity and mortality data, are essential to the NHLBI and ORMH's goals of successfully establishing a clinical coordinating center at the Jackson State University and the participation of both minority educational institutions in analyzing and publishing clinical data on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in African-Am ericans from the Jackson ARIC cohort. Authority: 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1), as set forth n FAR 6.302-1. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Interested respondents must submit written capability statements demonstrating their ability to perform this research effort using the existing ARIC cohort in Jackson, MS. Responses providing insufficient information for evaluation will not be considered. This is not a Request for Proposals. See numbered Note 2 2. (0119)

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