The JHS is a large, community-based, observational study whose participants were recruited from urban and rural areas of the three counties (Hinds, Madison and Rankin) that make up the Jackson Miss, metropolitan statistical area (MSA). Participants were enrolled from each of 4 recruitment pools: random, 17%; volunteer, 22%; currently enrolled in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, 30% and secondary family members, 31%. Recruitment was limited to non-institutionalized adult African Americans 35-84 years old, except in the family cohort where those 21 to 34 years of age were eligible. The final cohort of 5,306 participants includes 6.59% of all African American Jackson MSA residents aged 35-84 (N-76,426, US Census 2000). Major components of each exam include medical history, physical examination, blood/urine analytes and interview questions on areas such as: physical activity; stress, coping and spirituality; racism and discrimination; socioeconomic position; and access to health care. At 12-month intervals after the baseline clinic visit (Exam 1), participants are contacted by telephone to: update information; confirm vital statistics; document interim medical events, hospitalizations, and functional status; and obtain additional sociocultural information. Questions about medical events, symptoms of cardiovascular disease and functional status are repeated annually. Ongoing cohort surveillance includes abstraction of medical records and death certificates for relevant International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes and adjudication of nonfatal events and deaths.

The Jackson Heart Study (JHS) provides a rare and valuable research resource maintained under the joint stewardship of the JHS institutions and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The NHLBI and the researchers it supports have a responsibility to the public and to the scientific community, using these resources, to encourage as rapid scientific progress as possible, subject to appropriate terms and conditions. This website segment provides researchers with terms and conditions for the use of JHS data for ancillary studies and manuscripts, and as well for the collection of additional data from the JHS cohort. By navigating this section of the website, researchers will find ancillary studies guidelines, proposal form, forms required for data access, a checklist, as well as guidelines and forms for publications and presentations. The Publications and Presentations Guidelines include specific steps and schematics for the manuscript proposal process as well as the manuscript submission and approval process. A one-page summary of the ancillary studies and publication and presentation guidelines is also available for quick reference. Researchers will find a link to the JHS Study Components which includes a listing of the data collected in Exams 1 and 2 and in progress for Exam 3. Exams 1 and 2 Manuals and Forms are also accessible via this link. Additionally, researchers will find a dynamic list of JHS Investigators and collaborators that is frequently updated. There is a link to a description of our Genetics focus and ancillary and sub- studies in progress. There is also a link to JHS publications. A series of figures illustrate selected demographics and risk factors related to the JHS cohort. The details of obtaining data are included under “Data Access”.