Research
The Seattle ERIC supports epidemiologic research on
the causes and outcomes of important health conditions
among U.S. veterans by providing operational support.
This section describes the current Seattle ERIC
research portfolio and information about our previously
funded programs.
"The Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the world’s
largest, on-going telephone health survey system,
tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in
the United States yearly since 1984.
Conducted by the 50 state health departments as
well as those in the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin
Islands with support from the CDC, BRFSS provides
state-specific information about issues such as
asthma, diabetes, health care access,
alcohol use, hypertension, obesity, cancer screening,
nutrition and physical activity, tobacco use, and more.
Federal, state, and local health officials and researchers use this
information to track health risks, identify emerging
problems, prevent disease, and improve treatment.
(CDC Website)"
The Seattle ERIC has been instrumental in getting Veterans Questions
on the survey as a result Veterans Affairs researchers
have eight publications using this survey
data. Abstracts of those papers can be found on
our BRFSS page.
The Carotid Lesion Epidemiology and Risk (CLEAR) Study
The general aim of the CLEAR Study is to evaluate factors associated
with risk and progression of carotid artery disease (CAAD), particularly
oxidation, including paraoxonase, and inflammation genotypic and
phenotypic variation. We study case-control differences as well as
predictors of longitudinal changes in CAAD in moderately affected
individuals currently being studied by magnetic resonance imaging
(Hatsukami, PI). We collect controls to test hypotheses related to
the presence or absence of CAAD. The aims of the CLEAR Study include:
- Identify common genetic variation in oxidative loci that predict
either CAAD case-control status or progression of CAAD measured by
magnetic resonance imaging (MR)
- Investigate the role of oxidative phenotypes
and PON1 activity in the prediction of
CAAD case-control status and progression
measured by MR; Aim 3: Pathway evaluation
of oxidative loci and phenotypes in prediction of CAAD.
- Test for inflammatory and acute phase response
locus effects in CAAD progression evaluated
by 3-year longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging percent lumen
stenosis
in subjects with
CAAD
- Test for these locus effects
in prediction CAAD risk comparing cases and controls. One phenotype
of interest is the response of the immune system
to vaccination, as measured in the
sub-study. In this sub-study we draw subject’s blood before
and after a clinical vaccination to see if
subjects with vascular disease have a more
vigorous immune response and to see if genes
that predict this response also predict vascular
disease. The newly submitted PO1 will expand
the number of MR progression subjects and
use mRNA expression differences in monocytes
to identify genes to follow-up with genotyping
for genetic prediction of CAAD case status
or progression.
Cooperative Study #569: A Twin Study of the Course
and Consequences of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
in Vietnam Era Veterans
An exciting new study using the
VET Registry is being launched by the Department
of Veterans Affairs to study the long-term course
and consequences of post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) in Vietnam-era veterans. The study is designed
to answer questions about how PTSD
might influence of the lives of veterans decades
after the end of the war. Findings will be of interest
to Vietnam-era veterans as
well as veterans of more recent conflicts in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Drs. Jack Goldberg (Interim
Director, VET Registry)
and Kathryn Magruder
from the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center
in Charleston, SC will lead this study. This study,
will recruit over 9,000 VET Registry
members, many of whom were previously assessed
for PTSD in 1992. We will collect new data from
twins using both mailed questionnaires
and telephone interviews. Recruitment for this
study will begin in mid-2008.
The primary study objective of this study is
to evaluate the impact of military service, including
deployments and other occupational exposures, on
long-term health. Important
health outcomes include all objective diagnoses,
as well as subjective measures of
symptoms and functional health. The fact
sheet lists the latest information about the study
The Vietnam Era Twin Registry was re-located
to the Seattle ERIC in 2001 and it enhances the ability of the ERIC
to achieve its goals. The
VET Registry provides a unique sample of veterans
for investigators to study the genetic and environmental determinates
of diseases etiology
and outcomes.
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