Data Capture Ramps Up for $25M Lung Health Cohort Study

THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION IN MICHIGAN

Data Capture Ramps Up for $25M Lung Health Cohort Study

BY SHANKAR MADHAVAN, LOCAL LEADERSHIP BOARD CHAIR OF THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION IN MICHIGAN

Historically, lung health has been studied only after the appearance of chronic lung disease. Little has been done, however, to learn about the evolution of respiratory disease and determine how a young, healthy adult’s lung function declines over time. This information could help uncover the key source(s) and potential biomarkers of various lung diseases, perhaps leading to a significant finding like the cholesterol discovery for cardiovascular health.

The American Lung Association and Northwestern Medicine have been awarded a $24.8 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to conduct the first federally funded U.S. cohort study of millennials. The American Lung Association Lung Health Cohort will be the largest study ever funded for the Lung Association. Though similar studies have been conducted for heart disease, this is the first ever to examine lung health in such a way that the findings can be translated into actions for preventative care.

HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE UPCOMING STUDY:

• It will follow 4,000 young adults at the age of peak lung health, from 25 to 35 years old, from 17 different regions across the U.S. This large, geographic cross-section should paint a clear picture of lung health across the nation.

• Each participant will be tracked for six years. They’ll provide information on lung function, respiratory symptoms, lifetime residential and occupational histories, health behaviors, fitness, biomarkers, and chest imaging.

• This study will use low-dose CT scans to track intermediate stages of lung injury and abnormalities in the participants’ windpipes.

• The American Lung Association’s Airways Clinical

Research Centers (ACRC) Network will conduct the research, working closely with researchers at

Northwestern, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, University of Michigan,

University of Alabama-Birmingham, Beth Israel

Deaconess Medical Center and all the centers of the ACRC network.

“This promises to be among the most innovative and significant longitudinal studies conducted to-date during this century,”

— DR. RAVI KALHAN, M.D., MS, Northwestern Medicine Pulmonologist

“This first-of-its-kind study will engage the broader scientific community in an effort to understand respiratory disease and will serve as a pivotal step forward for the lung health and lives of all Americans,”

— HAROLD WIMMER, American Lung Association President and CEO

Additionally, researchers hope to determine whether air pollution, inhalants like marijuana and e-cigarettes, and other outside factors have a correlation with lower lung function. By identifying these factors, we can not only help people catch lung disease earlier but also work to prevent it.

“This promises to be among the most innovative and significant longitudinal studies conducted to-date during this century,” Dr. Ravi Kalhan, M.D., MS, Northwestern Medicine Pulmonologist and American Lung Association Lung Health Cohort Principal Investigator explained. “The promise of the American Lung Association Health Cohort Study is that by filling in this knowledge gap about how chronic lung diseases evolve, scientists can propose new interception and prevention strategies that may effectively reduce the physical, emotional, financial and social burden of chronic lung disease.”

For 115 years, the American Lung Association has made it our mission to help fight lung disease through extensive medical research. We have funded breakthroughs in the fight against tuberculosis, identified genes that cause the development of lung cancer and cystic fibrosis, and developed new ways to treat respiratory distress syndrome. In 1999, the Airways Clinical Research Centers (ACRC) Network was established to focus its efforts on asthma and COPD. Now the nation’s largest notfor-profit network of clinical research centers, the ACRC will utilize all its resources to conduct this groundbreaking study.

“This first-of-its-kind study will engage the broader scientific community in an effort to understand respiratory disease and will serve as a pivotal step forward for the lung health and lives of all Americans,” American Lung Association President and CEO Harold Wimmer said. “The Lung Association is proud that our Airways Clinical Research Centers Network serves as an integral part of this important work.”

LUNG.ORG