# Cardiometabolic Disease in an Aging South African Cohort

> **NIH NIH P01** · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · 2020 · $100,327

## Abstract

Project 2: Cardiometabolic Disease in an Aging South African Cohort—Abstract
 Cardiometabolic disease (CMD) has become the leading cause of death globally as a result of
epidemiologic, social, and economic transitions. Furthermore, advances in care have moved the burden of
CMD onto older adults, who tend to have comorbidities and may be frail, which affects both prognosis and
treatment decisions. As part of the Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Studies of an INDEPTH
Community (HAALSI) Program, Project 2 will assess the trajectories of traditional and novel risk factors for
CMD and test whether easily identified and modifiable risk factors predict future CMD morbidity and both
CMD and non-CMD mortality in an African population ≥40 years. Data will be collected over six years with
baseline studies completed in 2015/16 and two further waves, three years apart. Effective follow-up of
cohort participants with collection of self-reported health status linked to actual clinic use, along with testing
of established and novel biomarkers, will lead to a detailed understanding of the complex biologic,
behavioral, demographic, and socioeconomic factors that result in increasing CMD morbidity and mortality.
Project 2 is linked to Project 1 through a study of associations of CMD with cognitive impairment and
dementia; Project 3 through the study of HIV/AIDS and antiretroviral therapy; Project 4 through its
investigation of the impacts of salt legislation; and Project 5 through its focus on multimorbidity and frailty.
We have additional genetic input into CMD risk factors through an ongoing collaboration with the Human
Heredity & Health in Africa (H3Africa) project/Africa Wits-INDEPTH Partnership for the Genomic Study of
Body Composition and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk (AWI-Gen). Reliable data on baseline levels of
chronic CMD-related conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, stroke and diabetes in older
populations are extremely limited in rural South Africa, yet understanding the rate of change in CMD is
critical for planning health and social policy. Our long-term goal is to use these data to inform planning of
health and social services with capacity to identify and target high-risk middle age and older persons who
may benefit from simple interventions to reduce CMD morbidity and mortality. The specific aims are to:
AIM 1: Evaluate the scale and trajectory of CMD in the HAALSI cohort, including the prevalence, incidence,
and mortality of key conditions and their risk factors.
AIM 2: Evaluate the effects of critical social determinants, in particular migration and socioeconomic
disadvantage, on CMD risk.
AIM 3: Develop models for identifying individuals at high risk for CMD and generate projections of future
population-level CMD burden.
AIM 4: Assess the evolving impact of South Africa's 2013 salt legislation (in effect from 2016) on CMD risk.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9950989
- **Project number:** 5P01AG041710-07
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Stephen Tollman
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $100,327
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9950989

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9950989, Cardiometabolic Disease in an Aging South African Cohort (5P01AG041710-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9950989. Licensed CC0.

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