Happy Holidays from SOL !

Sometimes the better gift you give to others is a sweet smile that shows how much you care. Michael has learned about it and he sends a great smile with best wishes for good health and prosperity this holiday season and throughout the coming year to all on behalf of HCHS/SOL.
Michael Heathcote, who is project manager of HCHS/SOL in Chicago, is very glad that over 4,000 Hispanics are still participating with follow-up interviews locally. Participants are contacted once a year for three years, “we do call them, track them and try to contact them on their anniversary date,” said Michael. All SOL participants had free clinical exams as initial part of the study; at this time, they continue with follow-up interviews by telephone usually.
The HCHS/SOL outcomes are pretty ambitious and researchers want to find out some answers to many pending questions regarding the Hispanic health such as why Hispanics would have less mortality of cardiovascular disease even though they have similar or higher risk factors and socioeconomic disadvantages than other population groups in the USA. A phenomenon dubbed “the Hispanic paradox.” To answer this one and other questions, it was necessary to set a large study in which was recruited 16,000 Hispanics nationally. The participation of Hispanics is crucial to reach the study outcomes and succeed, “I do not know if they have realized on the impact of their participation would mean for their community in the future” remarked Michael as trying to link the strategic importance of Hispanic participation and the relevance of final study outcomes. Michael thinks SOL participants need motivation to keep enrolled in research studies. After he offered his greeting to all SOL participants, he left us saying “I just would like to encourage them to always stay open to these opportunities, take them seriously, and to know how much the SOL study really means to our families and the community out there.”
Happy Holidays!

Sleep Disorders: More Common Than You Think

If you are not getting enough sleep, probably you got a sleep disorder. In fact, some sleep disorders may be present in our everyday life and many of us do not notice of it. There are many types of sleep disorders, the most common ones are: sleep apnea, insomnia and the restless leg syndrome.
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing while you sleep. This is a serious condition because increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Sleep apnea is difficult to check and diagnose even by doctors during a routine office visit; therefore, it is important you should be alert on some signs like snoring or chocking while you are sleeping. Snoring sometimes disrupts your sleep and it may be very annoying to your bedroom mate. Snoring could be a sign of sleep apnea, particularly if it is a loud snoring. If you suspect of sleep apnea because you have loud snoring, you should be evaluated and treated by a health professional.
Another chronic sleep disorder is insomnia that is characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying sleep. People with insomnia may have stress, anxiety, depression, and an increased risk for having heart attacks as well; that is why poor sleepers should see a doctor to look for professional advice and treatment.
Other sleep disorder often unrecognized is the Restless Leg Syndrome. This sleep disorder affects your nervous system with unpleasant feelings in your legs that cause the urge to move them. Symptoms of tingling, creeping, burning, aching or twitching your legs, particularly at the end of the day or at night when you are resting in bed, are very frequent in this sleep disorder. As a result, it may be difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. You should talk to your doctor if you are having these symptoms. The Restless Leg Syndrome only should be diagnosed and treated by a doctor.
Besides sleep disorders, some habits such as cigarette smoking, caffeine and alcohol consumption may affect the duration and quality of your sleep. All these habits may worse symptoms for people with insomnia or Restless Leg Syndrome. I have heard some people say that drinking alcohol beverages make it easier to fall asleep because it is a sedative; however, people who like to drink and/or smoke cigarettes tend to awake too early because of nicotine or alcohol withdrawal. So consider such habits that may be preventing you to get a good sleep at night. Here are some tips for getting a good night’s sleep:
 Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and weak up at the same time each day even on weekends.
 Exercise at least 30 minutes on most days, but not too late in the day.
 Avoid coffee, colas, teas, and chocolate that contains caffeine.
 Avoid smoking and alcoholic drinks before bed.
 Avoid large meals and beverages late at night.
 Talk to your doctor or pharmacist to see whether any medication you are taking may be delaying or disrupting your sleep.
 Relax before bed. Read, listen music, or other relaxing activity should be part of your bedtime ritual.
 Have a good sleeping environment. Check the temperature in your room; avoid distractors like TV, cell phones, or computers in the bedroom; and have a comfortable mattress and pillow.
 See your doctor if you continue to have trouble sleeping.
If you are looking for more sleep information, you can go to this website: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/index.htm.

AHRQ Encourages Spanish Speakers to Become More Active Partners in Their Care

AHRQ has launched a new Spanish-language campaign “Toma las Riendas” (“Take the reins”), a nationwide effort to encourage Hispanics to take control of their health and explore treatment options. Ten organizations - including the National Hispanic Medical Association, Latino Student Medical Association, National Association of Hispanic Elderly, National Latina Health Network, Telemundo and the National Center for Farmworkers Health - are partnering with AHRQ to promote AHRQ's Spanish-language, evidence-based resources.
AHRQ's Effective Health Program now has more than 20 free, Spanish-language publications that provide information about common conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, and depression. Patient guides are available online at http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm/informacion-en-espanol/. To order print copies, email the AHRQ Publications Clearninghouse at ahrqpubs@ahrq.gov or call 1-800-358-9295.
For other AHRQ Spanish-language consumer tools, go to www.ahrq.gov/consumer/espanoix.htm. You can also follow AHRQ in Spanish on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AHRQehc.espanol

Sleep is Good for Health: what do we know about Hispanics?

Many people are not fully aware of the importance of sleep on health. Sleep is more than just making your body rests. Our body needs sleep as it needs food or air to breath for survival. Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night to function at their best (sleep time in children is longer than adults). Keeping a regular schedule for bedtime with proper sleep duration are good habits that everyone should try to follow; however, many people still believe they can skip bedtime or sleep less hours without consequences. Based in a survey that was conducted in 12 states across the US, the Center of Disease Control (CDC) reported that 35% of adults sleep less than 7 hours; this of course is below the minimum time recommended. So, why is sleep important to keep you healthy? In recent years, researchers have found more evidence of how sleep problems may have adverse health outcomes. For Instance, many studies show that a chronic lack of sleep increases your risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, the CDC has stated sleep insufficiency is an important public health problem now because it is linked to motor vehicle crashes, industrial disasters, medical and other occupational errors. Thus, if you are not having enough sleep then you must learn how to take care of yourself.
However, it is not known to what extent inadequate sleep and lack of sleep affects the health of Hispanics as well as the health of non-Hispanics, said Dr. Jose Loredo in a medical article published in 2010. There is very little sleep research in Hispanics living in the U.S. Most sleep research has been done in Non-Hispanic White population and to a lesser extent in African Americans. The good news is that a large study, the Hispanic Community Health Study (SOL-Study of Latinos) is underway to assess risk of snoring and insomnia in 16,000 adult Hispanics/Latinos nationwide. As part of the SOL study, an ancillary study called “Sueño” is still enrolling SOL participants in Chicago and the three other Field Centers. “”Sueño” assesses the impact of Sleep Habits with Cardiovascular Risk Factors and other adverse health outcomes in Hispanic Americans. Marcos Herbas, the Project Coordinator for the Sueño study in Chicago, is very pleased with the response of participants to this study. “I would like to thank each one of them. Their participation is great not only for themselves but also for future generations.” said Marcos. With time, results of SOL study would help know more about what kind of sleep-related health issues Hispanics are dealing with in their daily life.

Are you looking for good health information?

Few days ago, I was having a conversation with a colleague about how Hispanics look online for health information. Of course this was very fruitful conversation, so I would like to share somewhat I found interesting. Even though the Pew Hispanic Center reported in 2010 that Hispanics are less than Whites and a little bit behind of African Americans to access the Internet, Hispanics are learning to use computers as much as are getting into other latest tech devices like smart cellphones, tablets, etc. It is possible that the number of Hispanics accessing the internet is growing now and it seems that there is a trend that Hispanics are more interested in navigating websites to get useful information for their everyday lives. If someone has a health problem, taking a look at websites could help a lot because it is supposed you will find your answers unless you get wrong or very limited information. Here it is my point. Are you always getting good health information when you visit websites? Probably you would say yes if you are browsing in English only. However, Spanish speaker rarely can find the right or good information because there is limited health information in Spanish from most of reliable websites created in the US.
I have good news for Hispanics who are browsing on websites for health information; the US Department of Health and Human Services has a very useful website that has also a Spanish version. You can google it: www.healthfinder.gov and that is all. You can navigate this website not only for general information on health but also to look for resources and advice. For example I found a small box where you can put your age and your sex, then click on a button and you start receiving a lot of specific information on your health care according to your age and sex, which is very important.
Try it. I am sure you are going to like this website.

SOL Ancillary Study Finalizes: a conversation with Elena Navas-Nacher

The SOL study has several important ancillary studies that seek to go deeper or expand the knowledge in many areas of the Hispanic health. Recently, we had the opportunity to talk to Elena Navas-Nacher, who is a pre-doctoral fellow at the Department Preventive Medicine of Northwestern University. She actually is finishing her work as Chicago coordinator for a diversity supplement grant that is part of the SOL study, which evaluates the psychometric properties of SOL instruments.

Elena stated the importance of this ancillary study, “We want to make sure these psychometric instruments are valid for Hispanic population because originally were developed for Caucasian populations, so we should know if they are culturally appropriate for our Hispanic communities.” The development of appropriate instruments is very important in research and the contribution of this ancillary study aims to fill a gap in this area.

The SOL study plays a key role because tries to restore the fact of limited information regarding health for diverse Hispanic communities in different parts of the country. Besides that, imminent potential benefits of SOL study would be coming in the short run as Elena said, “The SOL study will help our communities in improving their health when we can see what should be done in terms of program development, health education, and so on.”

Elena’s goal was to interview 100 SOL participants in Chicago. Other fellow researchers, Patricia Gonzales (San Diego) and Orit Weitzman (Miami) also completed interviews for a total of 350 SOL participants. After success in recruitment and enrollment of participants in this national SOL ancillary study, Elena is busy entering and analyzing data as previous steps to publish the study results that hopefully will come out very soon.

When we asked Elena about her thoughts on the SOL participants, she expressed her gratitude to all of them. “We really appreciate their involvement, care and interest in improving our community’s health, our future as Hispanics. So, I want to say thank you,” she said. Finally, she encouraged SOL participants to stay in touch with us because the SOL study has not finished yet; she stressed that participant’s health status should be followed over time, “There are many ways to stay in touch with our study such as to be involved through our newsletters, website or calling our phone number. I always encouraged them all to do that.” Then she said good bye. Conversation was over and we also had to say thank you to Elena for doing a good job.

Note: SOL study’s telephone number in Chicago is: 1-800-749-4765. If you are a past SOL participant and you have any questions regarding your participation, or want to update your contact information, just call this number. Bilingual staff is responding to calls.

Why High Blood Cholesterol is a Health Concern?

Because the higher your blood cholesterol, the greater your risk of developing or having a heart attack. Each year, more than a million Americans have a heart attack, and about half a million people die of heart disease.
When there is too much cholesterol in your blood, it builds up in the walls of your arteries. Over time, this buildup causes “hardening of the arteries” so that arteries become narrowed and blood flow to the heart becomes slowed down or blocked. This may cause chest pain or even a heart attack.
High blood cholesterol itself does not cause symptoms, so many people are unaware when their cholesterol is too high. It is important to find out your cholesterol numbers. Lowering levels that are too high lessens the risk of developing heart disease or dying from it if you already have it.
How to Prevent or Lower Blood Cholesterol Levels?
These are things you can do something about it:
 Eat a Healthy Diet: learn more on healthy diet and practice it. Healthy diet as recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a great option. Go to this website: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/
 Watch your weight: being overweight tends to increase your cholesterol level.
 Increase your physical activity: regular physical activity can help lower your cholesterol levels.
 Get a Doctor Check-Up: regular check-ups with your doctor are important because not only you are properly diagnosed but also can have an earlier treatment if you need it.
Learn more about cholesterol…
More information on lowering cholesterol is available from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Web site at www.nhlbi.nih.gov (under Health Information for the Public). Podcasts and Spanish-language articles also can be found in the online Diseases and Conditions Index at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci.
You also can order or download information on lowering cholesterol from the NHLBI Web site or by calling the NHLBI Health Information Center at 301–592–8573 (TTY: 240–629–3255).

Congratulations to SOL participants!

The Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos (HCHS /SOL) has reached the end of its recruitment phase with over 16,000 participants, nationally. Here in Chicago, Northwestern University completed its quota of 4,000 participants. Congratulations!
The SOL study will provide information about the health status and disease burden of Hispanics/ Latinos, their nutritional practices and the role of acculturation on lifestyle and health. Surely, these findings will help to the Latino community and future generations in the planning and development of health programs as well as the delivery of quality medical care.
Now, the study continues with annual follow-up interviews that will be conducted throughout the study to determine health outcomes. Finally, study participants are encouraged to continue their participation and to maintain contact with the study staff.

Last Chance

This is it Chicago! This is your last chance to be a part of History and participate in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. If you live in the Albany Park and Irving Park communities, identify as Hispanic/Latino, and are between the ages of 18-74 you may be eligible to participate in our study. If you get a letter in the mail or a visit from one of our recruiters, please consider the invitation to make a difference in the health of your community and participate!

Muevete! Humboldt Park

Muévete Classes Start Up in Humboldt Park
Published: April 7, 2011

Muévete is a physical activity initiative of Community Organizing for Obesity Prevention (CO-OP) Humboldt Park. Muévete is free and promotes culturally relevant physical activities by any means, for women and the entire family. For more information, please contact Leony Calderon at: muevete@prcc-chgo.org or 773-278-6737.

Schedule:
Dance-Aerobics: Mon. Wed. & Fri. 6:30-7:30pm, 1440 N. Sacramento Blvd
Yoga & Resistance: Tue. & Thu. 1-2pm & Tue. 6-7pm, 2753 W. Division St.
Yang Style Tai Chi: Mon. & Wed. 6-7pm, 2753 W. Division St. (call for registration)
Zumba: Tue. & Thu. 5:00pm-6:00pm 2753 W. Division St.
Walking: (Seasonal Apr.– Oct. ) Mon. Wed. & Fri. 12n-1pm 2753 W. Division
Biking: (Seasonal Apr. – Oct.) Tue. 6-7pm 2459 W. Division St.

Free Community Events

500 More to Go! Your Participation Counts!

Members of the following Communities:

Albany Park
Irving Park
Avondale
Hermosa
Logan Square
Humboldt Park
Belmont Cragin

if you identify as Latino/Hispanic and are between the ages of 18-74, you could be elegible to participate in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Your Participation Counts! This is your chance to be apart of history. We will be recruiting in these communities from now until June 2011. To see if you are elegible for our historical study, please contact the Chicago Field Center at 1-800-749-4765 ext 3.

Consulate General of Mexico and the American Heart Association- Go Red por tu Corazon - February 25, 2011

The American Heart Association is excited to partner with the Consulate General of Mexico for our 2nd annual cardiovascular disease workshop. Our event will take place on Friday, February 25, 2011, from 10 am- 1 pm at the Consulate General of Mexico’s office ( 204 S. Ashland). Our goal is to provide stimulating and relevant discussions, panels and presentations on issues facing our Latino community throughout Metro Chicago. Topics to be discusses include:

Latinas and Heart Disease/ Go Red Por to Corazon campaign
Zeroing in on Obesity for Cardiometabolic Risk Reduction for adults and children
How someone’s Undocumented status Impacts Cardiovascular Disease and Overall Health

Please help the American Heart Association promote this upcoming event to your contacts and partners.


If you have further questions, please contact Fil Guipoco. His contact information is provided below. Thank you so much in advance
_______________
Fil Mendez Guipoco, MA
Health Equity Director
American Heart Association, Midwest Affiliate
208 S. LaSalle, Suite 1500
Chicago, IL 60604
Direct: 312-476-6628
Fax: 312-346-7375
E-mail: fil.guipoco@heart.org
www.americanheart.org

Planning Meals and Plate Dividers

Eating Healthy is no easy task but meal planning can be made easier using the my plate method. Click on the photos below to see how a balanced diet can be put together by dividing your plate.







Information courtesy of the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Go Red for Women Wear Red Day, Friday, February 4th

Learn how you can help fight heart disease in
women at GoRedForWomen.org or by contacting
your local American Heart Association office.




For Bilingual info from the American Heart Association on how to fight heart disease please click on the picture below.

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all happiness and good health for 2011!

We look forward to seeing new participants in our examination centers and reconnecting with old participants through our Annual Follow Up!

Please contact us at 1-800-749-4765 if you, as a SOL participant, have moved or changed your phone number.

The SOL Study Chicago