aragon workers’ health study – design and cohort description阿拉贡工人的健康研究u2014u2014设计和队列描述.pdfVIP

Casasnovas et al. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders 2012, 12:45 /1471-2261/12/45 STUDY PROTOCOL Open Access Aragon workers’ health study – design and cohort description 1 2 3 4,5,10* 4,6 José A Casasnovas , Victor Alcaide , Fernando Civeira , Eliseo Guallar , Borja Ibañez , 4,7 4 1 4 4,8,9 Jesús Jiménez Borreguero , Martin Laclaustra , Montserrat León , José Luis Peñalvo , José M Ordovás , Miguel Pocovi11,12, Ginés Sanz4 and Valentín Fuster4,13 Abstract Background: Spain, a Mediterranean country with relatively low rates of coronary heart disease, has a high prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and is experiencing a severe epidemic of overweight/obesity. We designed the Aragon Workers’ Health Study (AWHS) to characterize the factors associated with metabolic abnormalities and subclinical atherosclerosis in a middle aged population in Spain free of clinical cardiovascular disease. The objective of this paper is to describe the study design, aims and baseline characteristics of participants in the AWHS. Methods/Design: Longitudinal cohort study based on the annual health exams of 5,400 workers of a car assembly plant in Figueruelas (Zaragoza, Spain). Study participants were recruited during a standardized clinical exam in 2009–2010 (participation rate 95.6%). Study participants will undergo annual clinical exams and laboratory assays, and baseline and triennial collection of biological materials for biobanking and cardiovascular imaging exams (carotid, femoral and abdominal ultrasonography, coronary calcium score