title: Cohort profile: the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) survey.
abstract: The Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey is a community-based, random sample, epidemiologic cohort of n = 5502 Boston (MA) residents. The baseline BACH Survey (2002-05) was designed to explore the mechanisms conferring increased health risks on minority populations with a particular focus on urologic signs/symptoms and type 2 diabetes. To this end, the cohort was designed to include adequate numbers of US racial/ethnic minorities (Black, Hispanic, White), both men and women, across a broad age of distribution. Follow-up surveys were conducted ∼5 (BACH II, 2008) and 7 (BACH III, 2010) years later, which allows for both within- and between-person comparisons over time. The BACH Survey's measures were designed to cover the following seven broad categories: socio-demographics, health care access/utilization, lifestyles, psychosocial factors, health status, physical measures and biochemical parameters. The breadth of measures has allowed BACH researchers to identify disparities and quantify contributions to social disparities in a number of health conditions including urologic conditions (e.g. nocturia, lower urinary tract symptoms, prostatitis), type 2 diabetes, obesity, bone mineral content and density, and physical function. BACH I data are available through the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Central Repositories (www.niddkrepository.org). Further inquiries can be made through the New England Research Institutes Inc. website (www.neriscience.com/epidemiology).
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Services and Disparities Research, New England Research Institutes, Watertown, MA, USA and Department of Medical Statistics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Piccolo
authors.forename: Andre B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Araujo
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: McKinlay
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012307:Risk Factors; D014570:Urologic Diseases / Q000208:ethnology*; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*