Earth Study

The National Cancer Institute funded this five-year project. The goal of the study is to determine how diet, physical activity, and other lifestyle and cultural factors relate to the development and progression of chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, chronic lung and respiratory disease, and related mortality from these diseases. There is a three-year enrollment period in which 6,500 participants from the Navajo Nation, Alaska and the Dakotas will be recruited. Participants will complete a series of questionnaires, have a short physiological exam and have medical history obtained from IHS records to complete the data. All data will be used to assess health status and identify groups of the population at risk for various health conditions. Morbidity and mortality reviews for incidence will also be conducted for this study. Ten MBIRI staff members work for this project of which 7 are of Native American descent.