Hispanic Community Health Study

西班牙裔社区健康研究（HCHS）是一项前瞻性队列研究，旨在确定居住在美国的西班牙裔人群中许多疾病和障碍的患病率和决定因素，主要代表四个种族（中美洲/南美洲，古巴，墨西哥和波多黎各）。受试者将来自多个地理区域和创始人人群的人群，并在美国居住不同时间，从几代人到不到一年。资金由NHLBI、NIDDK、NINDS、NIDCR、NIDCD、NCMHD和ODS提供。每个研究所或中心提供资金，以支持研究的核心功能和每个出资申办者指定的感兴趣的组成部分。每例入组受试者的程序包括测量血压、人体测量、体力活动、肺活量测定、睡眠研究、ECG、牙科检查、听力检查和认知状态测量。NIDCD正在提供资金，以支持听力测试和与听力损失/助听器使用、耳鸣、噪声暴露和影响听力阈值的其他因素有关的问题。听力检查将包括耳镜检查、声导抗以及气导和骨导纯音测听。NHLBI是指导委员会的代表，并在每个贡献赞助商的投入下发挥这一作用。西班牙裔人口现在是美国最大的少数民族人口，预计到2050年将增长三倍。西班牙裔受其他美国人口群体中不太常见的因素的影响，包括饮食，活动，社区支持，工作条件和医疗保健的变化，特别是因为这些变化与来自不同文化背景和环境的移民有关。他们正在经历越来越多的肥胖，糖尿病的风险更高，以及社会和行为因素的变化，对许多主要慢性病有很大的潜在影响。这些不同的文化和遗传背景可能会对疾病风险产生很大的影响。西班牙裔人口在许多疾病方面的研究非常不足。她们的经济地位低得不成比例，造成保健方面的巨大差距。与非西班牙裔美国人相比，墨西哥裔美国人控制高血压的可能性是一半，报告没有常规医疗保健的可能性是两倍多，报告健康状况一般或较差的可能性更大，没有健康保险的可能性是两倍。哮喘似乎是一个特殊的问题，在一些西班牙裔亚组，慢性中耳炎是增加在西班牙裔儿童研究在国家健康和营养调查（NHANES）。需要在西班牙裔人群中进行纵向队列研究，以了解这些人群中危险因素和疾病的发展，并将所获得的知识应用于整个美国人群的疾病预防。

The Hispanic Community Health Study (HCHS) is a prospective cohort study to identify prevalence and determinants of many diseases and disorders in Hispanic populations residing in the US, with major representation of four ethnic origins (Central/South American, Cuban, Mexican, and Puerto Rican). The subjects will come from population groups originating from multiple geographic areas and founder populations, and with residence in the US for varying lengths of time, ranging from many generations to less than a year. Funding is provided by NHLBI, NIDDK, NINDS, NIDCR, NIDCD, NCMHD, and ODS. Each Institute or Center contributes funding for support of the core functions of the study and components of interest specified by each contributing sponsor. Procedures for each enrolled subject include measurement of blood pressure, anthropometry, physical activity, spirometry, sleep studies, ECG, dental examination, hearing examination, and cognitive status measurement. NIDCD is providing funding to support audiometry exams and questions relating to hearing loss/hearing aid use, tinnitus, noise exposure, and other factors that affect hearing thresholds. The hearing examination will include otoscopy, acoustic immittance and both air-conduction and bone-conduction pure tone audiometry. The NHLBI is the representative to the Steering Committee and conducts this role with input from each contributing sponsor. The Hispanic population is now the largest minority population in the US with a projected three-fold growth by 2050. Hispanics are influenced by factors less commonly found in other US population groups, including changes in diet, activity, community support, working conditions, and health care access, particularly as these changes are associated with immigration from different cultural settings and environments. They are experiencing increasing obesity, higher risk of diabetes, and changes in social and behavioral factors with large potential impact on many major chronic diseases. These differing cultural and genetic backgrounds can have a large potential to influence disease risk. Hispanic populations are very much understudied with respect to many diseases. Their disproportionately lower economic status results in significant disparities in health care. Compared to non-Hispanics, Mexican Americans are half as likely to have their hypertension controlled, more than twice as often report no usual health care, have a greater prevalence of reported fair or poor health, and are twice as likely to have no health insurance. Asthma appears to be a particular problem in some Hispanic subgroups, and chronic otitis media is increased among Hispanic children studied in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Longitudinal cohort studies in Hispanic populations are needed to understand the development of risk factors and disease in these populations, and to apply the knowledge gained to prevention of disease in the entire US population.