Completed Projects

If you are interested in obtaining more information about any of the studies listed below, please contact the Prevention Research Center at 203-732-1265.

Changes in Lipid Levels (CLIPS)

The purpose of this study was to assess the levels of blood cholesterol and other lipids during hospitalization and again 4 weeks after discharge.

This study involved three measurements of total cholesterol and other lipids over a period of one month. The first at admission to the hospital, on the 3rd day of the hospital stay or at discharge (whichever comes first), and at 4 weeks after discharge.

Connecticut WISEWOMAN project

The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) contracted with the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (PRC) to develop an intervention assessment and counseling tool for the Well-Integrated Screening of Women Across the Nation Program (WISEWOMAN). This tool will be utilized by contracted health care provider sites throughout the state to deliver counseling on reducing risk factors for cardiovascular disease for women enrolled in the program. This project was completed in May, 2002.

Coronary Risk Factor Screening and Behavior Change in Women

The study was a randomized trial of conventional cardiac risk factor screening compared to conventional screening plus coronary DHCT (cat scan) and their impact on behavioral risk factors. The subjects were randomly assigned to conventional screening, or conventional screening plus DHCT.

Women who were at least 55 years old, or were at least 3 years post-natural or surgical menopause; not older than 75 years; without known history of CAD or breast cancer; and not currently using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) were eligible.

A physician-trained research assistant obtained the subject’s blood pressure, heart rate, height and weight. The Griffin Hospital Laboratory performed fasting measures of total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, and triglycerides.

All subjects completed a health risk assessment survey and a more comprehensive questionnaire assessing hormone replacement use, current medication use, and physical activity at baseline. One week after the conventional screening and baseline questionnaire assessment, all participants received a tailored counseling session from a preventive medicine resident physician regarding nutrition, supplement use, physical activity, weight management, smoking cessation, and appropriate use of hormone replacement therapy and pharmacotherapy for coronary heart disease risk reduction.

After the counseling session the subjects were randomized to DHCT or control. Subjects were reevaluated at 6 and 12 months. At each follow-up visit, subjects completed the health risk assessment including dietary pattern and physical activity level, listed their current medications including vitamins, indicated whether or not they were using hormone replacement therapy, and underwent measures of BP, weight, height, serum lipids, and HbA1c. A follow-up DHCT scan was performed at the12 month follow up on women that received DHCT at baseline.

Egg

In the egg study, we enrolled 50 healthy adults, both men and women. Participants were assigned to an egg or an oat breakfast for 6 weeks. At the end of that time, we conducted endothelial function testing and measured cholesterol.

The oat assignment significantly lowered cholesterol levels, while cholesterol stayed fairly constant after the egg assignment. With regard to endothelial function, however, we observed no meaningful difference between the oat and egg treatments. This suggests that eating eggs may not be harmful to blood vessels.

Fruit/Vegetable Intake Among Multi-ethnic Adult Groups

Everyone knows that eating fruits and vegetables is good for you, so what isn’t society eating them? We do know that intake varies by location, demographics, and ethnicity/cultural context. This grant, more commonly referred to as fruit and veggie is a 2-year program of research conducted in the Northeast and South through a collaboration of the Yale and University of North Carolina Prevention Research Centers, to develop and test survey tools assessing determinants of, and barriers to, fruit and vegetable consumption in multi-ethnic, adult populations. The study teams will be doing systematic literature searches of existing survey tools based on published, and as indicated, unpublished sources, and conducting a series of professionally-moderated focus groups to elicit information about fruit and vegetable consumption from different ethnic, age, and gender groups. Later, intercept interviews will be conducted at local grocery stores and restaurants to gather information about people’s dietary choices and habits.

Healthy People 2010 Microgrant Initiative

The goals of this project are to establish a demonstration project in a nationally representative community for the assessment of the utility of distributing “micro-grants” for promoting progress toward Healthy People 2010 objectives; to establish an efficient, effective, and economical administrative structure for the distribution of community micro-grants; to convene local, state, and national experts in community-based public health to refine and implement a replicable process for the merit and objective-based distribution of funds; to refine and implement a grant award mechanism that is streamlined, objective, equitable, and replicable; to establish and apply appropriate methods of process, and as indicated, outcome evaluation to the funded projects; to evaluate the effect of the micro-finance mechanism applied on prevailing measures of community mobilization and capacity building; and to evaluate, critique and report on the effectiveness of the demonstration project, and generate all such documentation as is indicated and needed to support efforts at replication throughout the United States.

Meditation and Massage in End of Life (MIEL)

The MIEL study is a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial of meditation with and without massage for adults with end-stage AIDS. Prior literature indicates meditation is promising as an intervention uniquely suited to meet spiritual needs at end of life. However, meditation alone may not be sufficient to compensate for the benefits of physical contact. Among patients with AIDS subject to a sense of isolation and alienation, the benefits of meditation could be blunted unless the need for physical contact is also addressed. This study is exploring whether the benefits of meditation and massage are independent, additive, or synergistic.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Health, began November 2001 and will conclude April 2003 with a projected total enrollment of 48 subjects. To date 32 subjects, residents of an AIDS-dedicated skilled nursing facility in Connecticut, have been enrolled and randomized to receive meditation, massage, combined meditation and massage, or standard care. The meditation group receives instruction by an expert in the technique, followed by self-administration with audiocassettes. The massage group receives massage 5 days/week. The combined group receives both interventions. The control groups receive standard care, including on-site medical and nursing care, social services, and physical, occupational, and recreational therapy.

RalEF

This study assessed the effects of raloxifene (an osteoporosis-prevention medication) on blood vessel performance in 20 healthy post-menopausal women. The results, which will be published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, showed that on average, raloxifene improved blood vessel flow to a greater extent than placebo. Also, raloxifene was not associated with any more side effects than placebo.

Reaching Emotions through Arts-based Creative Teaching (REACT)

Youth violence is a public health priority, claiming nearly as many years of potential life as heart disease or cancer, and many more then AIDS. Aggression and hostility are underlying risk factors, compounded by low self-esteem, feelings of alienation and widespread media violence. Given the current climate of vigilance and media messages pertaining to terrorism, these risk factors may well be heightened. In the wake of September 11th, the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center will be assisting Mead elementary School in working with 5th graders to explore and express their emotions through the arts.

Quaker I

This study examined the effects of whole grain oat cereal, wheat cereal, and vitamin E supplementation on blood vessel performance following a fatty meal. Fifty healthy men and women were tested after a single meal of each of the 3 treatments followed by a fatty meal. They were then tested after a month of daily consumption of either oats or wheat cereals followed by a single fatty meal. A 2-week washout period preceded crossing over to the second month-long treatment. As measured by brachial artery reactivity studies, the results, considered preliminary, showed that in the single meal supplementation, oats or vitamin E, but not wheat, appeared to prevent endothelial dysfunction induced by the fatty meal. In the month-long supplementation, oat and wheat supplementation had comparable effects in preventing fat-induced endothelial dysfunction.

Quaker II

In this study we gave a sequence of oats and antioxidant vitamins (C and E) to 30 adults, both men and women, with early features of insulin resistance syndrome, which can be a precursor to diabetes. As in our earlier studies of oats, we found immediate beneficial effects on endothelial function from eating a single bowl of oatmeal, and greater benefit from eating oats daily for 6 weeks. The beneficial effects of oats appeared stronger in women than men. The antioxidant vitamins, E and C, did not confer any benefit, and actually seemed to exert a negative influence in these women.

PREFER

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of soy supplements versus raloxifene (an osteoporosis-prevention medication) on endothelial function in post-menopausal women. On average, the 22 women who completed the PREFER study had relatively normal endothelial function at baseline. The ultrasound scans after 6 weeks of treatment with raloxifene showed a minor improvement in endothelial function; with soy there was a minor decrease in endothelial function, and with the placebo there was almost no change from the baseline measures. Because these differences were small enough to be outside the range of statistical significance, it will be reported in the scientific journals that there was no significant difference from baseline or among treatment groups. No significant differences were reported among raloxifene, soy, and placebo treatments regarding side effects directly attributable to the study treatments. Hot flashes were the most commonly reported pre-existing menopausal symptom.

Regarding cholesterol findings in the PREFER study, all three treatments (including placebo) were found to significantly lower total cholesterol and LDL from baseline. Raloxifene demonstrated the greatest lowering effect, although the magnitude of the effect was not much greater than that of soy or placebo. No significant effect on triglycerides or HDL was seen with any treatment.

Technical Skills for Weight Management

This study assessed skill-based vs. counseling programs on long-term weight management.

All subjects were at least 30 years of age but not older than 65, and were female residents of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Oxford, Seymour or Shelton. They were the primary person in their household who purchases groceries and prepares meals, and body mass index (BMI) was > 27.3. Exclusion criteria included the following: a BMI > 45; pregnancy, but not lactation, any unstable medical condition affecting the ability of a subject to participate fully in the study protocol; use of medication for weight loss or participation in another weight reduction program at time of enrollment; pharmacologically treated diabetes; use of medications known to affect weight gain or loss. A total of 80 women were recruited.

The skill-based group attended two 90-minute lectures including an overview of factors influencing diet preference and behavior and summarized strategies for successfully modifying diet. This group also visited the supermarket in groups supervised by the dietitian. They received aisle-by-aisle instruction in the selection of healthful items, and how to read food labels. The participants also attended two dinners at local restaurants. Subjects received instruction in the selection of healthful dishes from the menu. The dietitian also visited each participant’s home and supervised a meal preparation. The dietitian instructed participants on choosing ingredients, pantry stocking, food preparation methods, and portion sizing. Following completion of the skill-building sessions, the participants had telephone and e-mail access to the dietitian for the remainder of the year.

The other group consisted of standard, office-based dietary counseling provided by a licensed dietitian. Each subject received a total of two one-hour sessions and four half-hour sessions the first six months of the study. The content of the counseling sessions was determined by the dietitian based on interactions with each subject.

Tailored Interventions for Smoking Cessation (TISC)

The “TISC” study was based upon the idea that in order to quit smoking, different folks need different strokes. There are at least seven barriers that people face when trying to quit smoking, some face more than others. Among these things that make smoking more difficult are nicotine dependence, addiction to other chemical substances, depression, anxiety, stress, concern about weight gain, and having family and friends who smoke. A questionnaire was developed to help identify each participant’s personal barriers, and was used to assign them to receive appropriate therapies to address personal barriers. The available treatments were antidepressant medication, referrals for counseling for depression and chemical dependency, anti-anxiety medication, nicotine replacement therapy; group counseling sessions, stress management sessions, YMCA membership and weight management classes and counseling with family members who smoke. After one year, 42% of participants were smoke free. The program was enhanced for use in the workplace, and is currently being offered to Griffin Hospital employees. Plans for making the program available to the community are being considered.