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La. (KNOE) – Researchers from LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center have published the first set of data from the Risks Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal, or RURAL, Heart and Lung study in Franklin Parish
The first-of-its-kind study was developed to explore why people who life in rural areas suffer higher rates of heart and lung diseases, stroke, diabetes, and obesity. Franklin Parish was one of 10 parishes and counties in the United States studied. Assumption Parish was also studied in Louisiana
Researchers worked with 373 adult volunteers in Franklin Parish. A mobile examination unit traveled to the parish in 2024 to collect the data. Each person spent around three hours in the unit. They answered questions and went through a variety of screenings, including blood sugar and cholesterol, an echocardiogram, a CT scan, and a lung function test
Of those studied, 82% were found to be overweight or obese. The Louisiana average is 72% and the national average is 68%. The obesity rate was elevated across all demographic groups
Researchers also found a clear relationship between income and health outcomes. Rates of high blood pressure were higher in Franklin Parish than in the state as a whole. But residents with higher income were found to have the lowest rates of hypertension. Older residents were more likely to have undiagnosed high cholesterol and diabetes
The RURAL study is also being conducted in Mississippi, Alabama, and Kentucky. The National Institutes of Health Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute funded the work of scientists from 16 different institutions, including the LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center
The study will continue through at least 2029 when the same participants will be evaluated again to determine how their health has changed over the years
The full data book for Franklin Parish is available here. More information on the Pennington Biomedical Research Center is available here
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