Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in Individuals with a History of Incarceration

Yale University, New Haven CT

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Dr. Emily Wang, MD, MAS is a general internist at Yale University who is conducting patient oriented research to reduce cardiovascular disease in patients with a history of incarceration. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration worldwide, such that more than 13 million individuals have been incarcerated in jail or prison. Current and former inmates are disproportionately ethnic minorities, poor, and have co-morbid substance abuse and psychiatric disorders. Patients with a history of incarceration are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality, although the specific mechanisms for this are unknown. Dr. Wang's goal is to understand how to prevent and mitigate cardiovascular disease in patients with a history of incarceration; this proposal will support her professional development and allow her to achieve her goal of becoming an independent clinical investigator. She will enlist the mentorship of a multidisciplinary team of highly accomplished researchers to achieve her training and research plans. Dr. Wang's training goals proposed for the K23 are to develop skills in: (1) advanced statistical techniques for longitudinal data analyses, (2) qualitative and mixed (qualitative and quantitative) methods, (3) design, recruitment, and management of a longitudinal patient cohort, and (4) multidisciplinary training in the measurement of cardiovascular disease and substance abuse as it relates to incarcerated populations. Her prior research has shown that having a history of incarceration is an independent risk for developing hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy, even after adjusting for confounding factors. Moreover, she has found that individuals with cardiovascular risk factors and disease have poor access to community health care upon release from correctional facilities. Dr. Wang's research plan for this application builds on her past clinical and research experience and explores three population-specific factors that may affect health outcomes in patients released from correctional facilities with cardiovascular risk factors and disease. The first project will use 25 years of data from the NHLBI-funded Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) cohort of 5115 young adults to study the impact of incarceration on the cumulative incidence of cardiovascular risk factors and long-term disease control and potential mediators of observed associations. The second project is a survey study designed to examine the nature of cardiovascular risk factors and disease care in prison health care systems. The third project will assess 50 recently released prisoners' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding their cardiovascular risk factors using both established instruments and in-depth interviews and, secondarily, will follow these individuals for 12 months to assess the feasibility of a future prospective cohort study. The studies proposed within this award application will provide preliminary data for an R01 to conduct a larger prospective cohort study to identify targets for future intervention studies designed to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the growing number of adults with a history of incarceration.