The Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study
The Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) study of over 215,000 men and women in Hawaii and California is unique in that it is population-based and includes large representations of older adults (45-75 years at baseline) for five US racial/ethnic groups (Japanese Americans, African Americans, European Americans, Latinos and Native Hawaiians) at varying risks of chronic diseases. The MEC has established a large biorepository of mainly blood and urine collected from over 70,000 participants, linked to extensive, prospectively collected risk factors (e.g., diet, smoking, physical activity), biomarkers and clinical data for five racial/ethnic groups.