Principal Investigator:
Dr.Hossein Poustchi
Associate Professor and Deputy of Education at the Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Approval date
In 2013, the design of the PERSIAN Cohort Study was approved by the ethics committees of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, the Digestive Diseases Research Institute (Tehran University of Medical Sciences) and each participating university.
Starting date
The PERSIAN study started in 2014.
Objectives
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Research and public health objectives
1. Todeterminecumulativeincidence/incidenceratesofNCDs or other outcomes.
2. To determine all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates for the leading causes of death.
3. To implement full cohort, nested case-control, and case- control studies of risk and protective factors for NCDs.
4. To compare the relationships between risk factors and
NCDs among different Iranian ethnic groups at different
cohort sites.
5. To build a population-based research infrastructure for
medical universities.
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Health system research objectives
1. To design/improve and optimize health information systems such as cancer registries, death registries, hospital information systems, etc.
2. To enhance national and international collaborations between medical universities and research institutes for joint medical and epidemiologic research projects and exchange of students.
3. To establish the largest biobank in Iran for basic and genetic scientific research and discovery of biomarkers and other biological determinants of disease.
Study population
The main study population of PERSIAN study consists of adults in 35-70 age range.
Sampling method and sample size
Upon joining the cohort, 163,770 participants entered in study and responded to interviewer-administered questionnaires.
Data Collection
The work flow at the cohort centers is as below:
Questionnaires and categories of topics:
Questionnaires
Follow up Methods
The PERSIAN investigators plan to follow up participants for at least 15 years after enrollment. Currently, participants are receiving annual phone calls through which follow-up questionnaires are completed regarding the occurrence of death or the incidence of any medical events, hospitalizations, or diagnostic/ therapeutic care.
Main Exposures
Major socioeconomic, environmental, personal habits and other exposures as specified in the data collection section.
Outcomes
The outcomes of interest in the PERSIAN Cohort Study include: 1) number of deaths, by cause; 2) incidence of major NCDs, such as CVD, cancer, metabolic disorders, digestive, respiratory, renal, and hepatic disorders, neurological diseases, etc.; and 3) trends in major risk factors associated with diseases, including anthropometric factors, physical activity, and many physiological, lifestyle, nutritional, and environmental factors.