Dr. Terry Butler, one of the coinvestigators in the new study, explained the Adventist Health Study 2 to the Adventist Review's editorial intern, Nathan Brown.
I'm particularly fascinated with quality-of-life issues. I'm not so much interested in living longer as in living better; does the Adventist health lifestyle actually contribute to a healthier life in later years and a better quality of life? We have indications that it does, and this study will help demonstrate that.
Many people don't understand this. They think, I'm not good enough to be a part of this study. That's one of the major barriers we have to overcome as we recruit enrollees. Some members say, "I'm overweight"; "I don't get enough exercise"; "I eat the wrong kinds of foods"; "I'm going to spoil the results," because they think that in this study we are comparing Adventist health with the rest of the population.
We did that in the past. In fact, we have demonstrated so well that Adventists on average live longer and healthier than other people that now researchers are interested in finding the why and how.
Among Adventists 2 to 5 percent are almost total vegetarians, another 25 to 30 percent are lacto-ovovegetarians, 25 percent eat meat occasionally, and about 40 percent or maybe more are really no different from the general population in terms of diet. We can get a lot of information from this diversity.
How did Loma Linda University
obtain funding for this study?
Dr. Gary Fraser, principal investigator from the previous Adventist Health Study at the School of Public Health, recognized that the diversity and uniqueness of the Adventist population could answer many questions that studying the general population could not. Adventists have a wider variety of intake of some important nutrients and foods of interest, such as soy, than other groups. The proposal for the new Adventist Health Study highlighted this, especially as it relates to several cancers. It also highlighted our ability to help the Black community understand and impact some of their disparities in health outcomes.
The National Cancer Institute provided major funding to get this study going. It's a wonderful opportunity for the church to witness not only in their local communities, but also nationally and internationally, and for the church to give back to the community and help answer some of the unsolved questions relating particularly to breast, prostate, and colon cancers.
So what is the study about?
The first part of the study is looking at diet: the foods we eat and the variety of foods, particularly those foods of interest for the National Cancer Institute such as soy-soy milk, soy products-and the role of calcium. And the various saturated and polyunsaturated fats-what roles do they play in health and disease? And many other naturally occurring plant chemicals, what we might call the micronutrients (the flavonoids, indoles, carotenoids, and many hundreds more, a whole host of powerhouses that have been discovered today)-what are their roles in certain diseases?
To be able to make the connection between lifestyle and disease, every two years AHS2 will be going back to the participants in the study with a brief questionnaire updating medical history, occurrences of hospitalization, for instance, or diagnosis of cancers or heart disease, etc. We'll also be checking in the tumor registries in every state to see which participants have been diagnosed with cancers.
You suggested this will be a chance for our church to witness. What do you mean by that?
A local church can let their community and local media know what they're doing, and that 50 people or 200 or more from their church are involved in this huge study. But it's also an opportunity to "take back" our health message-to reclaim the lead in cutting-edge research, discovering solutions to some of the questions and problems. As a church we can then witness that Adventists are willing to share the benefits they have with the general community, to create better health for everyone, not just for themselves.
It's a wonderful opportunity, not just at this point in time, but every time a report comes out in a scientific journal, a major news-paper, a media outlet, to show that Adventists are cooperating, helping in this way and sharing some of the health lifestyle benefits and features we recommend as a church.
How many people are you trying
to get involved in this study?
The challenge is to have 125,000 Adventists complete a questionnaire. The number of Adventists on membership lists in the United States is more than 800,000. But many of our church membership lists are not up-to-date, and we have lost contact with thousands of members. In addition to the missing members, when you exclude those who don't understand English the possible pool of enrollees drops way down. The age restriction drops it even further (see "Who Is Eligible?"). So in reality, to get 125,000 completed questionnaires, almost every eligible Adventist needs to enroll.
What is the long-term potential of the study?
There's huge potential! Once you've collected your baseline information on 125,000, the biggest amount of work is done. Collecting additional information is going to be simpler. We will continue to write additional grant applications to expand the investigation to look at the relationship between lifestyle and other diseases such as Alzheimer's, osteoporosis, and heart disease. This study has the potential to go on 10, 15, 20 years.
What do I have to do to be part of the 125,000?
Simply enroll and complete a dietary and lifestyle questionnaire. That takes, on average, about two hours to complete. Women generally take a little longer, because there's a special section on women's reproductive issues. So we say an average of two to three hours, which is a fair commitment of time.
So why should I take the time?
Most of us aspire to make a mark in society or in history, to do something as a legacy that we can leave behind. Often we don't have a chance. But here is something that the ordinary person can be a part of. With a commitment of a couple hours, we can become part of a monumental study of national and international significance-expanding everyone's knowledge of disease prevention for years.
The commitment of time will be well worthwhile.
ver the past 40 years researchers at Loma Linda University have conducted two major studies of the health of Adventist Church members. Not only have these studies informed the church, they have contributed much to the wider community's understanding of the interaction between lifestyle, diet, and health. However, there is still much to learn. With United States government funding of almost $11 million for the first five-year stage, researchers at Loma Linda University led by Dr. Gary Fraser have launched a new and more ambitious Adventist Health Study 2 (AHS2).
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