The Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH): Overview of the intervention program and evaluation methods

The Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH) is a multi-center field trial funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, to test the efficacy of primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and the promotion of cardiovascular health with pre-adolescents. The CATCH trial focuses on behavioral changes in 8-11 year-old students (3rd-5th grades) in 96 schools in California, Lousiana, Minnesota, and Texas. The study design involves the random assignment of the 96 schools (24 schools per site) into 56 intervention school and 40 control schools. Of the 56 intervention schools, half [28] receive a school-based program and half [28] receive both school-based and family-based programs. One group of students, those that are in the 3rd grade in the 96 schools in the 1991-92 school year, comprise the study cohort. Cohort students in the intervention schools receive three consecutive years of behavioral health education concerning eating habits, physical activity, and tobacco use. Evaluation methods include process, psychosocial, behavioral, and physiological measures. Data is managed and quality control assured through a coordinating center in Massachusetts. The major endpoint that is sought is blood cholesterol reduction, with the aim of a 5 mg/dl difference between students in the intervention and control schools at the end of the study. The results of the CATCH study should be generalizable and relevant to schools throughout the United States.