A Data Harmonization Project of 3 Large Prospective Cardiovascular Health-focused Cohorts

Overview

Journal Am J Epidemiol

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Public Health

Date 2024 Aug 8

PMID 39117574

Authors

Matthew M Scarpaci

Jee Won Park

Laura Dionne

Belinda L Needham

Mario Sims

Alka M Kanaya

Namratha R Kandula

Joseph L Fava

Charles B Eaton

Chanelle J Howe

Akilah J Dulin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Few prospective studies examine multilevel resilience resources and psychosocial factors in relation to cardiovascular health and disease. Recent research indicates that resilience resources are associated with a reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular disease-related events, but few studies have examined this relationship across different racial/ethnic populations or in large cohorts. Harmonization may address these limitations because it allows data from several cohorts to be analyzed together, potentially increasing sample size and in turn power overall and in minority populations. This article describes the process involved in combining 3 cardiovascular health-focused cohorts: Jackson Heart Study, Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, and Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America Study. Using a systematic process, we identified appropriate data harmonization techniques to use in harmonizing variables across cohorts. Variables included exposures (eg, resilience resources), outcomes (eg, American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7), and covariates (eg, race and ethnicity). Post-harmonization examinations included psychometric analyses of the harmonized variables. A total of 13 284 participants were included in the final harmonized data set. This project provides opportunities for future research in resilience resources and informs future studies that need to harmonize data. Results based on the harmonized data set could inform interventions and policies.

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