Frequently asked questions

1. How many participants are needed in the study?

This is the number calculated to provide meaningful results with confidence over about six years of follow up. If we had a smaller group it would take relatively longer to obtain the same results. Of course well be happy to have more than 125,000 in the study.

2. How long will the study continue?

This is a long-term study. The initial 5 years of funding ends in 2006. During this period the important work of enrolling the members and collecting the baseline lifestyle data takes place. We then expect to receive another 5 years' of funding to mainly ascertain health outcomes and disease events in our population. But the study has the potential to go on for 15 or 20 years and make important contributions in many areas of health.

3. What is involved in the study?

That is the major contribution we ask of you. But every two years we will send you a very brief questionnaire to list any hospitalizations you may have had and any major changes in health.

One thousand responders will be randomly selected to participate in the Support Sub-study to help validate our questionnaire. Another small group will be invited to take part in a Church Clinic Pilot Study to test the feasibility of extending church clinics to the whole group.

4. Where does the money come from?

All money for the study is a grant from the National Cancer Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that funds all kinds of major health and medical research in the U.S. These are your tax dollars working to benefit the population.

There are rigorous accounting procedures for all expenditures. While Loma Linda University and the Seventh-day Adventist Church support the project in many ways they give no direct money for the study.

5. What other studies are planned?

6. Where can I find the results from the research?

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Frequently asked questions