Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Social and Biological Determinants of Cardiovascular Risk among Urban and Rural Yakut: The Impact of Socioeconomic Upheaval

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

The collapse of the Soviet Union was a watershed event that resulted in a catastrophic decline in longevity and health status for indigenous Siberians. The social and economic disintegration following the breakup of the Soviet Union resulted in epidemic mortality from cardiovascular diseases. This study will investigate the social, behavioral and physiological phenomena underlying this higher mortality. This research uses an urban-rural design to investigate major determinants of cardiovascular risk in the Yakut, an indigenous Siberian group. The hypothesis will be tested that rapid social change has lead to dietary changes, producing a gene-diet interaction leading to high cholesterol levels among urban subjects and increased incidence of cardiovascular disease. Approximately 500 adult subjects will be recruited from the city of Yakutsk, the village of Tiungiuliu and surrounding settlements. Serum lipids and C-reactive protein will be used as markers of cardiovascular risk and will be measured using dried blood spots. Dietary intake of saturated fats and cholesterol will be assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Data on health behavior (alcohol consumption, smoking) and sociodemographic dimensions will be collected by questionnaire. This research will enhance international collaboration and the exchange of scientific knowledge between U.S. and international scientists and will provide essential training for future scientists in the United States. This research is significant in that it explains the health consequences of failed modernization, estimates the effect of gene-diet interactions, and increases our knowledge of how rapid epidemiological change can occur within the context of rural-urban social change.