Using college alumni populations in epidemiologic research: The UNC alumni heart study

Ilene C. Siegler, Bercedis L. Peterson, John C. Barefoot, Sue H. Harvin, W. Grant Dahlstrom, Berton H. Kaplan, Paul T. Costa, Redford B. Williams

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

The UNC Alumni Heart Study (UNCAHS) is a prospective study of the role of psychosocial factors, in particular hostility, in the development of coronary heart disease. The target population is composed of persons who completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory while attending the University of North Carolina in the mid-1960x. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine whether hostility, demographic and other variables were significant determinants of the subjects' locatability and participation. It was found that MMPI hostility scores at initial testing were unrelated to either potential or actual locatability or participation. Thus there is no evidence that hostility is the source of selection bias in the UNCAHS. Selection into the study was predicted by age, sex, degree status and variables concerned with the conditions under which the MMPI was administered. It is concluded that follow-up studies of college cohorts may have study-specific sources of selection bias.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1243-1250
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Clinical Epidemiology
Volume45
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1992
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Hostility
  • Methods
  • Selection bias

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology

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