Sick to death
In the United States, large, long-running studies provide clues about people’s health, highlighting ailments such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, while providing a starting point for research and interventions. That’s not the case in Africa. Despite the enormous burden of disease there and the rise of what were traditionally considered diseases of industrialized nations, there are almost no broad population studies that might provide guidance for policies and priorities. A group of researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health is seeking to change that, taking aim at chronic ailments such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer through a major cohort study like those that have illuminated important trends in the U.S. population’s health. Led by Epidemiology Department Chair Hans-Olov Adami and Associate Professor of Epidemiology Michelle Holmes, the effort — called the Africa/Harvard School of Public Health Partnership for Cohort Research and Training — is seeking to enroll 500,000 people from...