The Cohorts Consortium of Latin America and the Caribbean – CC-LAC
What is the Cohorts Consortium of Latin America and the Caribbean (CC-LAC)?
The CC-LAC is a group of more than 70 professionals and researchers in Latin America and the Caribbean who have conducted cohort studies focused on noncommunicable diseases (for example, diabetes or hypertension) and cardiovascular diseases (for example, ischemic heart disease). The goal of this consortium is to collect data, examining cardiometabolic risk factors (eg, blood pressure, glucose, and lipids) and fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular outcomes (eg, stroke or myocardial infarction). Finally, provide regional risk estimates to inform burden of disease metrics, as well as other ambitious projects that include a cardiovascular risk score to strengthen cardiovascular prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Which cohorts participate in the CC-LAC?
Population-based cohorts on cardiometabolic factors participate in the consortium. Participants in these cohorts were not recruited based on cardiovascular disease or risk factor, only history. The cohort search involved searching through the website or repository of each study; in Medline, Embase and SciELO; in addition to consultations among LAC researchers. Ultimately, 33 cohorts from 13 countries were accessed. Of these, 2 that did not determine fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular events were excluded, while 18 did not determine nonfatal cardiovascular events from the analysis of fatal and nonfatal outcomes.
The selected cohorts belong to Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile (including the MELISA Institute).
Number of pooled cohorts and participants by country in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Int J Epidemiol, Volume 49, Issue 5, October 2020, Pages 1437–1437g, https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyaa073
What is the CC-LAC for?
In Latin America and the Caribbean, cohort studies whose pooled data could provide useful evidence to inform about risk factors or risk prediction for non-communicable diseases (for example, diabetes and hypertension) and cardiovascular diseases (such as ischemic heart disease) are carried out. Given that these are the main causes of morbidity, disability and mortality in most of Latin America and the Caribbean, places that are characterized by having a great socioeconomic, ecological and environmental diversity, in terms of access to health, in addition to the frequency of risk factors and the prevalence or incidence of non-communicable diseases, through this consortium aims to answer research questions that individual cohort studies could not answer.
Publications
COHORT PROFILE: THE COHORTS CONSORTIUM OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (CC-LAC)
"Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are characterized by much diversity in terms of socio-economic status, ecology, environment, access to health care, as well as the frequency of risk factors..."
THE LANCET, REGIONAL HEALTH, AMERICAS - IMPACT OF COMMON CARDIO-METABOLIC RISK FACTORS ON FATAL AND NON-FATAL CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: AN INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL POOLED ANALYSIS OF 31 COHORT STUDIES
"Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death globally, and the main causes of these deaths are a set of well-known cardio-metabolic risk factors such as high blood pressure..."
THE LANCET, REGIONAL HEALTH, AMERICAS - DERIVATION, INTERNAL VALIDATION AND RECALIBRATION OF A CARDIOVASCULAR RISK SCORE FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (GLOBORISK-LAC): A POOLED ANALYSIS OF COHORT STUDIES
"Risk stratification is a cornerstone of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and a main strategy proposed to achieve global goals of reducing premature CVD deaths..."