The VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) research study will officially begin recruitment for participants in January 2010. The purpose of the study is to evaluate whether taking omega 3 fatty acids from fish oil or vitamin D supplements helps reduce the development of cancer, heart disease and stoke in healthy people.

Think you might be interested in participating?

I started my dietetics career as a research dietitian working collaboratively with eight other facilities with VA Cooperative Study Group #275. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about the research process and to meet some wonderful men who served our country. When our children were little, we participated in numerous Procter & Gamble diaper studies. The local company was always looking for families to use and evaluate new test diapers before they hit the national market. It was a wonderful way to receive free diapers and to participate in making a good product better.

Research requires willing participants. According to ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, participating in clinical trials allows participants to "play a more active role in their own health care and help others by contributing to medical research."

The upcoming VITAL study will be funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted by Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. They seek to enroll 20,000 U.S. men and women from all over the country. Eligible participants include women 65 and older and men 60 and older that have not previously suffered a heart attack or stroke or any other cancer besides skin cancer. Selected participants would agree to take 3 pills daily for several years and to limit additional supplementation of vitamin D, calcium and fish oils and to complete study forms and annual questionnaires. All study pills and forms will be provided via the mail and participants are not required to make any clinic visits.

You can learn more about this upcoming study by visiting the study website. There will be further information posted after Labor Day so those interested can request introductory materials and an enrollment questionnaire. I share this information with you now so those of you that are eligible can be thinking about whether you would be interested in participating in research. If you know someone that might fit into this study group that doesn’t read the dailySpark, please pass this along to them as well. This research “could” change future supplementation recommendations for your children and grandchildren that could provide improved health. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful legacy to leave them?

Have you ever participated in a research study? If so, what did you think of the process? If not, would you consider participating in one in the future?