Strong Souls Study

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Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is major problem among indigenous Australians, and imposes a significant financial burden on the Australian health care system. CVD cannot be sufficiently explained by the increased prevalence of conventional cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, smoking and overweight. Predicted CVD rates among young Indigenous adults using conventional risk factors are about 30 times lower than the observed rate. Increased recognition has been given to the role of psychosocial factors in CVD, particularly, the poor psychosocial circumstances of Indigenous Australians. However, psychological phenomena resulting from adverse day-to-day experiences and their relationships to CVD, are poorly understood. This study aims to examine relationships between culturally valid measures of social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing, and traditional and novel cardiovascular risk factors. Findings from this study will help determine if the adverse psychosocial environment of many Aboriginal Australians contributes to the current excess morbidity and mortality from CVD. This study is embedded in a longitudinal study so that early life experiences can be taken into account. Sadly this population is especially suitable for a life course study, because the premature adult mortality and early onset of non-communicable diseases means the time intervals for development of morbidity and mortality events is relatively short.