# PROSPECT: Puerto Rico Observational Study of Psychosocial, Environmental, and Chronic Disease Trends

> **NIH NIH R01** · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · 2021 · $138,490

## Abstract

Project Summary
 In 2019, the United States (US) territory of Puerto Rico (PR) had the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes
and disparately higher hypertension prevalence compared to the US population. Strong evidence supports that
these cardiometabolic conditions can be prevented with a healthy diet. However, we have documented
suboptimal diet quality and inadequate age- and sex-specific intake for magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca),
potassium (K), and vitamin D (vitD) among adults in PR. Dietary supplementation may significantly lower the
inadequacy of several nutrients; however, our preliminary data among adults in PR suggest moderate-to-low
use of dietary supplements. Importantly, dietary supplement use may alter serum concentration of
micronutrients, creating the need to determine correlation of intake with physiological status. Data on
supplement use are scarce for PR, and it remains unknown why they choose to use supplements, patterns of
use including frequency and dose, and how these are associated with physiological status as well as with
hypertension and diabetes, as evidence suggests selected nutrients may help prevent these conditions.
 Our overall goal is to identify use of dietary supplements which may relate to current cardiometabolic
conditions, and inform dietary guidelines and future research needs aimed at reducing cardiometabolic
disparities in PR. We will leverage the established infrastructure of PROSPECT: Puerto Rico Observational
Study of Psychosocial, Environmental, and Chronic disease Trends', a cohort of adults (30-75y) conducted
across the island. We administer a validated food frequency questionnaire with some questions on supplement
use, measure blood pressure, and analyze glucose markers from blood samples. Our proposal directly responds
to this Administrative Supplement by adding a comprehensive supplement use questionnaire for analysis of
association with blood pressure and diabetes markers, and analysis of serum Mg, vitD, vitB6, and vitB12 for
correlation with supplement use, in the next 1,000 recruited participants. Our specific aims are to (1) estimate
prevalence of use, frequency, duration, dose, and reasons for using dietary supplements using a questionnaire;
(2) determine correlation between intake from supplement use of selected vitamins and minerals with serum
biomarkers; and (3) determine associations between dietary use of supplements for Mg, vitD, vit6 and vitB12
and blood pressure and diabetes markers (i.e., plasma glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, and hemoglobin A1c).
 This study will identify use of dietary supplements in PR – especially those linked to cardiometabolic
conditions – to inform tailored public health messages and programs to effectively improve cardiometabolic
health. The newly collected data will generate knowledge on how and why adults use dietary supplements, and
which nutrient supplements may contribute to cardiometabolic health, and be possible targets for
interventions, policies, or clinical ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10393805
- **Project number:** 3R01HL143792-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** JOSIEMER MATTEI
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $138,490
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10393805

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10393805, PROSPECT: Puerto Rico Observational Study of Psychosocial, Environmental, and Chronic Disease Trends (3R01HL143792-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-08 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10393805. Licensed CC0.

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