Princeton Lipid Research Study (PLRS)
The Princeton Lipid Research Study has been studying cardiovascular health in families and the Cincinnati community for over 50 years.
In that time, there were three initial visits in the 1970s, highlighted below, plus several later studies starting in the early 2000s, highlighted under the “Previous Projects” section.
The Princeton (OH) Lipid Research Clinics Prevalence Study (1973-1978)
The NIH-NHLBI Lipid Research Clinics (LRC) Prevalence Study was a multi-stage epidemiologic survey of lipids, lipoprotein cholesterol, and other cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in selected North American populations. The Princeton LRC Study Population was drawn from all public and parochial schools in the Princeton City School District (PSD) near Cincinnati, OH, and included all children in grades 1-12 and a random subset of parents selected by household. The school population was 73% white and 27% black, 52% male and 48% female.
Stage 1 (Visit 1) of the LRC survey included 6775 students in grades 1-12 (ages 6-18) with measures of fasting total cholesterol and triglycerides, basic demographic information, and each participant’s relationship (if any) to the first person seen from that family. This visit also included a 50% sampling of parents. Of eligible children in the PSD, 84% participated in Stage 1 assessments, and participation did not differ by race.
Stage 2 (Visit 2) of the LRC, conducted ~6 weeks later, included a 15% random sample of Stage 1 participants plus any Stage 1 participants with hyperlipidemia (n~1500 students). Of eligible Stage 1 participants, 91% participated in Stage 2. Stage 2 collected data on measured height, weight, triceps skinfolds, fasting lipids, plus blood pressure, diet (24-hour recall), family history of CVD, current medications, and (12-channel) clinical chemistries. LDL cholesterol was estimated using the Friedwald formula.
The LRC Family Study (Visit 3), conducted 6-12 months after Stage 2 (1976-1978), studied the Stage 2 risk factors (except blood pressure) in all first-degree relatives of selected index cases from the Visit 2 sample. Thus, the Family Study cohort included students measured in Stage 1 and/or 2, the student’s siblings not included in Stage 2, and the student’s parents and other close relatives.
Key Findings and Publications
These early stages of the study provided the basis for understanding patterns of blood lipids in children and families in the United States and relationships of lipids with maturation, lifestyle factors, physical health and other metabolic measurements. In addition, the family-based aspects of the study allowed for evaluations of how heritable lipid and other traits are in families.