What is ARDAC?

ARDAC is the Antecedents of Renal Disease in Aboriginal Children Study. It is a community-based, longitudinal, cohort study which means that the same study participants remain involved for a long period of time! The ARDAC study monitors the kidney and heart health of children and young people in NSW. It began in 2002 and is based at the Centre for Kidney Research at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in western Sydney.

Both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children and young people are participating in the ARDAC study. There are now over 3700 participants from schools and communities across NSW. By monitoring the health of the kidneys and heart of our participants as they move into adulthood, the ARDAC study hopes to find some answers about why the risk of chronic kidney disease and of heart disease is so much greater for Aboriginal Australians.

Our study participants are currently aged from 12 to 31 years with an average age of 21 years and are visited every two years by the ARDAC team for a kidney and heart health screening. This involves measuring their height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure and testing urine samples. The results are analysed to see if there any differences occurring between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal participants in the presence of risk factors for kidney and heart disease. Any participants with abnormal results are referred to their local health centre and we ensure that region specific data is fed back to the communities we work with.

If you or your community would like to participate in the study please contact us