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Study Description

  • Name of grants: Inflammation: Correlates and Prognosis in Framingham
  • Agency number: NIH, NHLBI, 5 RO1 HL64753
  • PI: Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM
  • Dates: 07/01/00 - 06/30/04
  • Specific aims: To determine the clinical correlates of inflammatory markers. To relate inflammatory markers to clinical and subclinical CVD.
  • Cohort: Offspring, Exam 7
  • Marker: CRP, ICAM, IL6, Urinary F2 isoprostanes, MCP1, MPO

  • Name of grants: Framingham: Inflammation, Genes, and Cardiovascular Disease
  • Agency number: NIH, NHLBI, A1 R01 HL76784
  • PI: Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM
  • Dates: 06/01/04 - 05/31/09
  • Specific aims: To examine the environmental and genetic determinants of inflammatory markers; genotype 200 inflammatory genes; relate inflammatory markers and genes to CVD and incident hypertension.
  • Cohort: Offspring, Exam 7 Generation 3, Exam 1
  • Marker: Offspring - CD40 plasma and serum, ICAM, LpPLA2 mass (Diadexus), LpPLA2 activity (GlaxoSmithKline), Osteoprotegerin, P-selectin, TNFR2, Interleukin-18 (IL-18). Gen 3 - CRP, ICAM1, MPC1, LpPLa2 mass (Diadexus), LpPLA2 activity (GlaxoSmithKline)
  • Genes: >2000 SNPs in 232 inflammatory markers

  • Name of grants: Aging and Inflammation: Longitudinal Markers and Genetics in the Framingham Study
  • Agency number: NIH, NIA, R01 AG028321
  • PI: Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM
  • Dates: 09/01/06 - 06/30/11
  • Specific aims: To examine the relation of serial ELISA inflammatory markers and SNPs to subclinical cardiovascular disease, frailty and declining physical function.
  • Cohort: Offspring, Exam 7 and 8

  • Name of grants: Inflammatory markers as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease in women
  • Agency number: BIRCWH Scholars, K12-043444
  • PI: Angela Lee Jefferson, PhD, EJ Benjamin, Mentor
  • Dates: 07/01/00 - 06/30/07
  • Specific aims: To determine the association between inflammatory markers and brain MRI and cognition.
  • Cohort: Offspring, Exam 7
  • Marker: Exam 7 biomarkers

  • Name of grants: Osteoprotegerin Pathway: Relations of Genes and Biomarkers to CVD in the Community
  • Agency number: NIH, NHLBI, 1K23HL083102
  • PI: Sekar Kathiresan, MD
  • Dates: 09/01/06 - 06/30/11
  • Specific aims: To define the set of cis- and trans-acting SNPs in RANK ligand and osteoprotegerin pathway (RRO) genes in lymphocytes and serum; to determine if genetic variation or marker levels in the RRO pathway are associated with subclinical and clinical CVD.
  • Cohort: Offspring, Exam 7
  • Marker: Osteoprotegerin (HL76784), Receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (RANK), RANK ligand
  • Genes: Candidate genes and 550K

    • Authorized Access
    Publicly Available Data
    Study Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

    Exclusion: Missing phenotype/covariate data, missing/non-availability of genotype data

    Study History

    The Original cohort began Exam 1 in 1948 (9/1948 - 4/1953) and has continued with biennial examinations to the present. Exam 29 was performed from 4/2006 - 12/2007.

    The Offspring cohort began Exam 1 in 1971 (8/1971 - 9/1975) and has on average been examined every 3 to 4 years since enrollment. However, there was an eight year window between Exam 1 and Exam 2. Exam 8 was performed from 3/2005 - 1/25/2008.

    The Generation 3 cohort Exam 1 was performed 4/2002 - 7/2005.

    Examination of all three cohorts is ongoing.

    For IL-18, individuals from the Offspring cohort are available.

    Selected Publications
    Diseases/Traits Related to Study (MeSH terms)
    Authorized Data Access Requests
    Study Attribution
    • Principal Investigator
      • Emilia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM. The NHLBI and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA; Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
    • Genetic Statistician
      • Josée Dupuis, PhD. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Boston School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
    • Co-Investigator responsible for bioassays
      • John F. Keaney, Jr, MD. University of Massachusetts Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
    • Statistician
      • Martin G. Larson, ScD. The NHLBI and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA; Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Boston School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Deparment of Mathematics, Boston University, MA, USA.
    • Genetic statistician
      • Kathryn L. Lunetta, PhD. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Boston School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
    • Co-Principal Investigator on aging projects
      • Joanne M. Murabito, MD, ScM. The NHLBI and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA; Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA ,USA.
    • Co-Principal Investigator
      • Vasan Ramachandran, MD. The NHLBI and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA; Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
    • Principal Investigator on brain MRI and cognition project
      • Angela Lee Jefferson, PhD. Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
    • Principal Investigator on osteoprotegerin and RANK, RANKL pathway epidemiology and genetics project
      • Sekar Kathiresan, MD. Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Broad Cardiovascular Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, USA.
    • Principal Investigator on training grant to examination inflammation to bone mineral density
      • Robert R. McLean, DSc, MPH. Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged Research and Training Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
    • Other Investigators
      • Izabella Lipinska, PhD. Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
      • Patrice Sutherland, BS. The NHLBI and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA.
      • Sander J. Robins, MD. The NHLBI and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA.
      • Renate Schnabel, MD. The NHLBI and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA.
    • Institutions
      • The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
      • Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.