The Lindex: A Database of the Disease Experience of American Jews
Jacob Jay Lindenthal, PhD, Dr PH
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
University of Medicine and Dentistry * New Jersey Medical School

The Lindex has been under development since 1973. It began as a series of typewritten reviews; however, with the emergence of advanced computing technologies in the last two decades, it became evident that the Lindex could become a powerful and accessible research instrument. The Lindex covers a 130-year period (1874 to 2003). No comparable database has been created for any other ethnic group.

At the close of 2003, the Lindex consisted of 2,433 entries, encompassing 550 diseases and disorders derived from 1,160 reports. Data sources include journal articles; conference proceedings; community, insurance, and government reports, hospital- and government-based vital statistics, monographs and doctoral dissertations.

The Lindex comprises two major sections: the MicroLindex and the MacroLindex. The MacroLindex provides abstracts of all studies examined while the MicroLindex records variables associated with each study permitting researchers to conduct numerical analyses and graph and map information. Each entry in the MicroLindex has a separate Lindex number; an International Classification of Disease (ICD) number; identification of disease/disorder; author(s)' name(s); title and date of publication, volume, issue number, and inclusive pages; dates of publication as well as of study, a universal identifier number; locality of study (where applicable); study design (cross sectional, case report, literary/historical review); nature of each study (morbidity, mortality, morbidity/mortality); source(s) of data (clinical, laboratory, record reviews, questionnaires); and reported findings, including comparisons of the incidence of diseases/disorders and significance of findings in Jews versus non-Jews.

The Macro- and MicroLindex are linked together by identical entry numbers. The technological platform of this product was designed to accommodate future innovations and include new studies. Epidemiologic, genetic, and medical terms are included in the glossary and provision has been made to the Lindex with other appropriate databases and websites.

The Lindex was opened to the public in July, at the 2004 International Conference on Jewish Genealology held in Jerusalem. Development of the Lindex was funded in part, by a grant from the National Library of Medicine, grant number LM06902.