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Pars cohort study of non-communicable diseases in Iran: protocol and preliminary results

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Objectives

The pars cohort study (PCS) is a 10-year cohort study aiming to investigate the burden and the major risk factors of non-communicable diseases, and to establish a setting to launch interventions for prevention of these diseases and controlling their risk factors.

Methods

All inhabitants of Valashahr district in South of Iran, aged 40–75 years, were invited to undergo interviews and physical examination, and to provide biological samples. A total of 9264 invitees accepted to participate in the study (95 % participation rate) and were recruited from 2012 to 2014. Active follow-up was also carried out after 12 months.

Results

About 46 % of participants were male and 54 % were female. About 14.0 % of the participants were current smokers and 8.4 % were ever opium users. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 37.3 and 18.2 %, respectively. The prevalence of hypertension was 26.9 %. A total of 49 participants died during a median follow-up of one year.

Conclusions

PCS with its large scale and wealth of socio-economic and medical data can be a unique platform for studying the etiology of non-communicable diseases and effective interventions in Iran.

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Acknowledgements

This study is the result of the contribution of many individuals. We wish to thank the participants in the study for their cooperation, and the Behvarz’ for their crucial role in recruitment of participants. Additionally we wish to express our thanks to general practitioners, nurses, and nutritionists in the core team.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Non-Communicable Disease Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Abdullah Gandomkar, Mohsen Moghadami, Hadi Imanieh & Reza Malekzadeh

  2. Liver, Pancreatic, and Biliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Hossein Poustchi

  3. Gastroenterohepatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Maryam Moini & Mohammad Reza Fattahi

  4. Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Seyyed Mohammad Taghi Ayatollahi

  5. Nephrology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Mohammad Mahdi Sagheb

  6. Department of Internal Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Amir Anushiravani & Roozbeh Mortazavi

  7. Digestive Disease Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Sadaf Ghajarieh Sepanlou

  8. Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Reza Malekzadeh

Authors
  1. Abdullah Gandomkar
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  8. Mohammad Mahdi Sagheb
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  10. Roozbeh Mortazavi
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  11. Sadaf Ghajarieh Sepanlou
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  12. Reza Malekzadeh
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Reza Malekzadeh.

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Funding

This work was funded by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Grant Number [910210].

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committees of both Shiraz University of Medical Sciences and Tehran University of Medical Sciences and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors declare any conflict of interest.

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Gandomkar, A., Poustchi, H., Moini, M. et al. Pars cohort study of non-communicable diseases in Iran: protocol and preliminary results. Int J Public Health 62, 397–406 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-016-0848-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-016-0848-2

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