title: Sardasht-Iran cohort study of chemical warfare victims: design and methods.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Medical Faculty, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran. ghazanfari@shahed.ac.ir
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authors.lastname: Ghazanfari
authors.forename: Soghrat
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authors.lastname: Faghihzadeh
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authors.lastname: Aragizadeh
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authors.forename: Jalaleddin
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authors.lastname: Shams
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authors.lastname: Pourfarzam
authors.forename: Mohammad-Reza
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authors.lastname: Jalali-Nadoushan
authors.forename: Faramarz
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authors.lastname: Fallahi
authors.forename: Massoumeh
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authors.lastname: Ebtekar
authors.forename: Seyyed-Masoud
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Davoudi
authors.forename: Zeinab
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ghazanfari
authors.forename: Sussan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ardestani
authors.forename: Shamsa
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authors.lastname: Shariat-Panahi
authors.forename: Athar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moin
authors.forename: Abbas
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authors.lastname: Rezaei
authors.forename: Amina
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authors.lastname: Kariminia
authors.forename: Soheila
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authors.lastname: Ajdary
authors.forename: Mahmoud
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authors.lastname: Mahmoudi
authors.forename: Rasoul
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authors.lastname: Roshan
authors.forename: Sulayman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghaderi
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Babai
authors.forename: Mohammad-Mehdi
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authors.lastname: Naghizadeh
authors.forename: Mohammad-Mostafa
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ghanei
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents; D009151:Mustard Gas