December 15, 2003
by the Staff of CANHR and Elizabeth Ruppert, YKHC Research Coordinator Have you been hearing about diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease lately?
Data from the Alaska Area Diabetes Program suggest that, while the overall number of people who have diabetes in the YK region is less than in other parts of the state, the numbers have nearly doubled in the last decade.
Why is diabetes increasing at this rate?A recent report by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services found that nearly 80 percent of people with diabetes are overweight and that an excess weight gain of between 11-18 pounds can double a person's risk of getting diabetes.
How does the influence of store-bought foods affect a person's health and weight?What does it mean to be healthy and well for Yup'ik and Cup'ik individuals in the YK Delta?
How much of a person's risk of illness is inherited or passed down through their genes?
What behaviors and foods best fit Yup'ik and Cup'ik individuals to protect them from overweight, diabetes, and heart disease?
The Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR) will be doing a study on health and wellness in six villages in the Y-K Delta to answer these questions and others. To protect the privacy of study participants, the names of the villages are not being published.
The study will look at a range of factors that influence conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and being overweight. Researchers are interested in understanding important factors that contribute to a person's health by gaining an understanding of cultural aspects of health, local diet and nutrition, and genetics (what's passed down through families).
CANHR researchers have spent the last year visiting each of the participating villages, meeting with traditional councils, and talking with community members about various parts of the study. Each of the participating village traditional councils has approved participation in the research study. Residents from participating villages are working as local Field Research Assistants (FRAs) to assist CANHR researchers in the planning and implementation of research projects. In August, the FRAs met in Bethel to receive an orientation and training.
There will be a week-long health fair where those individuals who have consented to participate in the study will be asked to complete dietary recalls, diet and activity questionnaires, a wellness measure questionnaire, medical history and screening questionnaires. Additionally, they will have their body composition analyzed by the collection of measurements such as height, weight, waist, hip, and thigh widths. Finally, a small sample of blood will be drawn. Participants will receive immediate feedback about their cholesterol and glucose levels, their physical measurements, and the nutritional value of the foods they report eating.
For any questions regarding this research project, you can call Elizabeth Ruppert, YKHC Research Coordinator at 543-6997 in Bethel or Nick Hubalik, Field Research Coordinator, or Gerald Mohatt, Center Director, at the CANHR Office, UAF, at (888) 470-5576.
CANHR was established through a five-year grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The funding comes through a program for Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). This project has been and is being developed in partnership with the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC) and with the traditional or IRA councils in six villages.
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