Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity Across the Life Span (HANDLS)
2 other identifiers
observational
3,720
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study is an interdisciplinary, community-based, prospective longitudinal epidemiologic study examining the influences of race and socioeconomic status (SES) on the development of age-related health disparities among socioeconomically diverse African Americans and whites in Baltimore. This study investigates whether health disparities develop or persist due to differences in SES, differences in race, or their interaction. HANDLS is unique because it assesses physical parameters as well as evaluating genetic, biologic, demographic, and psychosocial parameters of African American and white participants over a wide range of socioeconomic statuses, longitudinally. HANDLS also employs novel research tools, mobile medical research vehicles, in hopes of improving participation rates and retention among non-traditional research participants. The domains of the HANDLS study include: nutrition, cognition, biologic biomarkers, body composition and bone quality, physical function and performance, psychology, genomics, neighborhood environment and cardiovascular disease. Utilizing data from these study domains will facilitate an understanding of selected underlying factors of persistent black-white health disparities in overall longevity, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline. HANDLS recruited a fixed cohort as an area probability sample of Baltimore City from August 2004 through November 2009 as Wave 1. HANDLS Wave 2 entitled The Association of Personality and Socioeconomic status with Health Status - An Interim Follow-up Study began in June 2006 under a separate protocol. It was designed as a follow-up telephone interview approximately 18 months after the initial examination (Wave 1) was complete. Wave 2 provided interim contact with study participants, and important interim information regarding their health. Now completed, waves 3, 4 and 5 were follow-up examinations visits to our mobile Medical Research Vehicles (MRVs). In September 2020, HANDLS initiated wave 6; telephone interviews and limited in-person visits as a COVID-centric protocol. The current protocol outlines Wave 7, the fourth follow-up examination and the participants' fifth visit to our mobile Medical Research Vehicles (MRVs). Planned as a follow-up after 3-4 years, Wave 7 consists of health examinations, questionnaires, sensory assessments (visual and olfactory), health literacy assessment, renal function assessments, environmental assessments, and for a sub-set of participants; structural MRIs, a personality inventory and an examination of sleep and cognition under separate protocols. HANDLS will resume in-person examinations with wave 7 in which we will prioritize contacting participants who were not seen in wave 5.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for all trials
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
Click on a node to explore related trials.
Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
July 1, 2009
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
March 24, 2011
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
March 25, 2011
CompletedJune 12, 2026
June 10, 2026
March 24, 2011
June 11, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
To disentangle the relationship between race, SES, and health outcomes.
Health Outcomes
4 to 5 years
Study Arms (1)
HANDLS
A fixed cohort as an area probability sample of Baltimore City from August 2004 through November 2009.
Eligibility Criteria
The baseline HANDLS sample consists of 3720 community-dwelling African American and white adults aged 30-64. Participants were drawn from 13 neighborhoods (groups of contiguous census tracts) in Baltimore City, sampling representatively across a wide range of socioeconomic and income circumstances.
You may qualify if:
- Verified HANDLS participants (age 30-64 at baseline recruitment)
- Able to give informed consent (or have a legal designee); and
- Must have valid picture identification.
You may not qualify if:
- Pregnancy
- Current cancer chemotherapy or radiation therapy
- Positive COVID test at point of care testing on examination visit date.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- National Institute on Aging (NIA)lead
- University of Maryland, Baltimorecollaborator
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institutecollaborator
- Johns Hopkins Universitycollaborator
- Massachusetts General Hospitalcollaborator
- University of Delawarecollaborator
- US Department of Housing and Urban Developmentcollaborator
Study Sites (1)
National Institute of Aging, Clinical Research Unit
Baltimore, Maryland, 21224, United States
Related Publications (2)
Evans MK, Zonderman AB. Health Equity through Clinical Research - Meeting the Challenge of Inclusion. NEJM Evid. 2023 Jun;2(6):EVIDctw2300015. doi: 10.1056/EVIDctw2300015. Epub 2023 May 23.
PMID: 38320133DERIVEDClaudel SE, Shiroma EJ, Harris TB, Mode NA, Ahuja C, Zonderman AB, Evans MK, Powell-Wiley TM. Cross-Sectional Associations of Neighborhood Perception, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Time in Community-Dwelling, Socioeconomically Diverse Adults. Front Public Health. 2019 Sep 13;7:256. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2019.00256. eCollection 2019.
PMID: 31572702DERIVED
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Michele K Evans, M.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Study Design
- Study Type
- observational
- Observational Model
- COHORT
- Time Perspective
- PROSPECTIVE
- Sponsor Type
- NIH
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
March 24, 2011
First Posted
March 25, 2011
Study Start
July 1, 2009
Last Updated
June 12, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-06-10