Child participation and family support for The CARDIAC Project not only provides valuable information about the current health of WV children, but also provides an opportunity to identify ways to reduce cardiovascular risk among children. Understanding our children's health is important for reducing their risk of cardiovascular disease as adults. We strive to increase our understanding of children's health and related factors by conducting additional research programs. Three programs are described in more detail below.

The expansion of The CARDIAC Project has created an opportunity to compare the screening outcomes of children across different grades.  Cohorts from kindergarten, second, fifth, and ninth-grade classes in West Virginia are included in these comparisons.  Findings from early comparisons of children’s screening by grade revealed that at least one third of children participating in the CARDIAC Project (regardless of their age/grade) were at risk for being overweight or already overweight according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Body Mass Index guidelines (www.cdc.gov).  Figure 1 illustrates the proportions of children within each grade who were at risk or overweight during the 2006-2007 school year (as presented in the Governor’s 2007 Report).

Figure 1. Percentage of children screened by The CARDIAC Project (by grade) who were at risk or overweight In 2006-2007 school year.

Families of children who participate in The CARDIAC Project screenings at their individual schools are also invited to participate in an additional study examining parent and child perceptions of obesity and cardiovascular risk and their health behavior patterns.  Again, children and their parents’ reports have been compared by child grade/age to examine differences in parent and child health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.

Findings revealed no significant differences in parent health knowledge by child grade.  However, significant differences in parent and child health behaviors were found.

For more information about this program, please refer to:
Cottrell, L., Minor, V., Murphy, E., & Neal, W. (In Press). Comparisons of parent cardiovascular knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors based on screening and perceived child risks. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 24 (2).
Cottrell, L. Spangler-Murphy, E., Minor, V., Downes, A., Nicholson, P., & Neal, W. (2005). Findings from a Kindergarten Cardiovascular Risk Surveillance Study:  CARDIAC-Kinder. American Journal of Health Behavior, 29(6), 595-606.

Purpose

The mission of the Prevention Research Centers’ Cardiovascular Health Intervention Research and Translation Network (CHIRTN) is to contribute to cardiovascular health for all people through the development and implementation of a coordinated applied research and translation agenda, and through the conduct of prevention research and translation activities that promote cardiovascular health.

Project Description

This is a four-year collaborative project including investigators associated with CDC funded Prevention Research Centers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Colorado at Denver; University of Illinois, Chicago; University of Washington; West Virginia University, and University of Rochester (which also serves as the coordinating center). In addition to conducting literature reviews to identify gaps in current knowledge relevant to cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention, the Network also will conduct collaborative research projects. The Network’s first project will address perceptions of risk for CVD among a variety of disadvantaged, minority, and high-risk populations using qualitative research methods.

Funding

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dates of funding: September 30, 2005 - September 29, 2009

Key Contacts

Principal Investigator: William A. Neal, M.D. – wneal@hsc.wvu.edu

Mission

The Translational Obesity Research Group (TORG) was established to strengthen and unite basic, clinical and translational research in cardiovascular health and disease and obesity-related issues within the Department of Pediatrics at West Virginia University. 

Investigators

The multidisciplinary nature of TORG provides an environment conducive to collaborative research. TORG consists of investigators in the following academic departments and clinical facilities:

Behavior Research Center
Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry
Community Medicine
Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Nutrition
Medicine
Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology
Pediatrics
Physiology and Pharmacology
Psychology

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Available 8/1/2008

We receive many requests for CARDIAC results.  To expedite your requests, we ask that you complete the request form using the link below.  All requests will be reviewed within 2 days.  Please provide your contact information so that a member of the CARDIAC Project can contact you for additional information. 

Data Request Form

All research-related activities conducted within The CARDIAC Project comply with current ethical standards of the WVU Internal Review Board.  For additional information about training and the guidelines, please go to:

http://www.wvu.edu/~rc/irb/ethi_tra.htm