Sardasht-Iran cohort study of chemical warfare victims: design and methods.
BACKGROUND
Insights into long-term clinical consequences of sulfur mustard have emerged from some investigations but less is known about the basic and molecular mechanisms of these complications. Sardasht-Iran Cohort Study is a comprehensive historical cohort study on Sardasht chemical victims' population which was designed to find out the long-term complications of sulfur mustard exposure and the basic mechanisms underlying clinical manifestations. This paper describes the design and methodology of Sardasht-Iran Cohort Study.


METHODS
In Sardasht-Iran Cohort Study, 500 individuals including 372 subjects from Sardasht, as the exposed group, and 128 subjects from Rabat, as the unexposed age-matched control group were evaluated. The exposed group was divided into two groups based on the severity of clinical complications at the time of exposure. Different samples including blood, sputum, saliva, tear, urine, and semen were collected for immunologic, hematologic, biochemical, and other laboratory analysis. Data were gathered from medical records, clinical examinations, laboratory tests, and questionnaires for psychological and lifestyle situations.


CONCLUSIONS
The important distinctions setting this study apart from the previous ones are discussed. The Sardasht-Iran Cohort Study provides important information on various aspects of long-term consequences of sulfur mustard exposure. This database will provide a better position to suggest guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of delayed complications in the patients exposed to sulfur mustard.
Ghazanfari
Tooba
T
Department of Immunology, Medical Faculty, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran. ghazanfari@shahed.ac.ir
Faghihzadeh
Soghrat
S
Aragizadeh
Hassan
H
Soroush
Mohammad-Reza
MR
Yaraee
Roya
R
Mohammad Hassan
Zuhair
Z
Foroutan
Abbas
A
Vaez-Mahdavi
Mohammad-Reza
MR
Javadi
Mohammad-Ali
MA
Moaiedmohseni
Sakine
S
Azizi
Fereidoun
F
Panahi
Yunes
Y
Mostafaie
Ali
A
Ghasemi
Hassan
H
Shams
Jalaleddin
J
Pourfarzam
Shahryar
S
Jalali-Nadoushan
Mohammad-Reza
MR
Fallahi
Faramarz
F
Ebtekar
Massoumeh
M
Davoudi
Seyyed-Masoud
SM
Ghazanfari
Zeinab
Z
Ardestani
Sussan K
SK
Shariat-Panahi
Shamsa
S
Moin
Athar
A
Rezaei
Abbas
A
Kariminia
Amina
A
Ajdary
Soheila
S
Mahmoudi
Mahmoud
M
Roshan
Rasoul
R
Ghaderi
Sulayman
S
Babai
Mahmoud
M
Naghizadeh
Mohammad-Mehdi
MM
Ghanei
Mohammad-Mostafa
MM
D000328:Adult; D002618:Chemical Warfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004066:Digestive System Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D009151:Mustard Gas / Q000506:poisoning*; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D014857:Warfare; D055815:Young Adult
D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents; D009151:Mustard Gas