Predictors of participant adherence and retention in the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension.

The African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) was conducted over a 7-year period at 21 clinical centers across the United States to investigate whether one of two levels of blood pressure control and/or one of three classes of antihypertensive medications was more effective at slowing the rate of renal disease in African Americans with renal insufficiency presumed secondary to hypertension. Analysis at the end of the study revealed an overall participant retention rate of 90% (still alive and not on dialysis); defined as having had at least one 125I-iothalamate GFR, the primary data collection element, measured in the final year of the study. Adherence, defined as not missing 3 consecutive protocol visits (6 months) during the study, was 77%.

Prevalence and correlates of left ventricular hypertrophy in the African American Study of Kidney Disease Cohort Study.

African Americans with hypertensive renal disease represent a high-risk population for cardiovascular events. Although left ventricular hypertrophy is a strong predictor of adverse cardiac outcome, the prevalence and associated factors of left ventricular hypertrophy in this patient population are not well described. The African American Study of Kidney Disease Cohort Study is a prospective, observational study that is an extension of the African American Study of Kidney Disease randomized clinical trial that was conducted from 1994 to 2001 in African Americans with hypertension and mild-to-moderate renal dysfunction.