Epidemiologist receives grant to study “stroke belt”

School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Chair Ka He received a $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a study of the nation’s “stroke belt,” according to a press release issued last week.

A nutritional epidemiologist, he will examine the distribution of trace elements in residents of the southeastern region of the United States, which is known for an unusually high stroke mortality rate.

The region includes Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas.

Residents will be examined for levels of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, magnesium and selenium in their blood or urinary tracts.

“The study will help identify individuals who have an elevated risk for stroke, thus providing important data identifying whether stroke risk can be reduced by dietary, supplemental, lifestyle or environmental changes to modify trace element patterns,” he said in the press release.

—Kirsten Clark