Landmark Study of Hispanic Health Launched

Northwestern University has launched a landmark study to track health risks and needs of Hispanics living in the Chicago area.

Dr. Martha Daviglus, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern, will be the principal investigator for the $9.6 million National Institutes of Health study grant that will be used to track the health of 4,000 Hispanics in the Chicago area.

The Midwestern city is one of four research sites that were awarded a total of $61 million from the NIH for the largest study of health and disease among Hispanic U.S. populations.

Hispanics, who have become the largest minority group in the nation, have a higher prevalence of diabetes, obesity, hypertension and other risk factors. Chicago has the third largest Hispanic population in the United States.