Cohort profile: The Hoveyzeh Cohort Study (HCS): A prospective population-based study on non-communicable diseases in an Arab community of Southwest Iran

Background: The Hoveyzeh cohort study (HCS) is a population-based cohort study that conducted in Hoveyzeh County (South-west Iran). HCS focus on common chronic diseases, disorders and risk factors of NCDs in the Arab ethnicity. Methods: A total number of 10009 participants (35-70 years old) were recruited in this prospective cohort study from May 2016 to August 2018. The HCS data were gathered by trained interviewer through interviewer-administered questionnaires. Also anthropometric measurements, physical examinations, clinical assessments, ophthalmology evaluation, auditory examinations, respiratory and cardiovascular assessments was conducted by means of standard instruments. Biological samples including blood, urine, hair, and nail collected and stored in the biobank. Results: The overall participation rate was 82.7%. The prevalence of obesity was 27.4% in males and 47% in females. Cigarette smoking prevalence was 20.9% (40.6 % in men and 7.6 % in women). Prevalence of major non communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, cardiac ischemic, myocardial infarction and stroke was 22.2%, 26.4% 31.9 %, 13.6%, 1.85% and 1.6% respectively. Conclusion: Considering the high prevalence of obesity and smoking in the population of Hoveyzeh and since the important role of these risk factors in development of common non communicable diseases, this issue should be taken into consideration and the necessary interventions in this context must be considered to modify lifestyle. The HCS is the only comprehensive cohort in the region, enabling it to provide valuable evidence about NCDs for a wide geographical area covering millions of people in both Iran and Iraq.