Cohort profile: Dehgolan prospective cohort study (DehPCS) on non-communicable diseases in a Kurdish community in the west of Iran.

The Dehgolan Prospective Cohort Study (DehPCS) was established to investigate and identify risk factors related to the most prevalent Non-communicable disease. In addition, to examine health status, socio-economic, behavioral, nutritional, and environmental exposures, DehPCS also attempt to collecting, analyzing and store blood, urine, nails and, hair samples to facilitate genetic studies and discovery of biomarkers and another biological determinant of NCD. In general, 3996 adult participants aged 35-70 were enrolled from the general population, between February 2018 and March 2019. 43.7% of them were female. The first follow-up wave was conducted on 3995 participants. Wide ranges of information include socioeconomic, lifestyle, nutrition, habit, physical exam, medication use and, medical history was collected. Proxy variables such as BMI index, MET score, Assets index and, macro and micronutrients were calculated. The most common self-reported diseases were kidney stones, hypertension, and fatty liver respectively. The prevalence of diabetes and hypertension among participants was 9.3% and 33.4 respectively. All data, samples and, measurements are collected again at the five-year intervals. So, we will be able to explore time-dependent changes in the NCD risk factors. DehPCS can be used to study the relationship between genetic, lifestyle, socioeconomic status, and environmental risk factors, and the most important non-communicable diseases by case-cohort and nested case-control designs that will be implemented on the cohort infrastructures. Researchers can also submit their pre-proposals via the following web address: http://c.ddrc.ac.ir/persianaccess/Account/Login.