Cohort profile: Bushehr Elderly Health (BEH) Program, Phase III

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Abstract
The Bushehr Elderly Health (BEH) Program is a population-based prospective cohort study, designed to address the increasing health challenges associated with an aging population. The third phase of the BEH program was conducted to repeat measurements from previous phases of the study, assessing the state of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—particularly cardiovascular and musculoskeletal diseases and cognitive function—as well as their determinants and consequences among older adults. This article presents the study profile for this phase, detailing the methodology, recruitment process, and baseline participant characteristics. The resulting longitudinal data will be used in future analytical studies. Phase III of the BEH Program was conducted six years after the second phase (stage 2), involving repeated measurements among participants aged 60 and above who were residing in Bushehr city and had participated in the previous phases of the first recruitment of the study. Previous phase participants were invited to take part in this phase. This phase repeated the measurements conducted in the previous phases included comprehensive questionnaires, physical and anthropometric examinations, whole body and bone density scan, diagnostic laboratory tests, and biobanking of biological samples including serum, EDP, stool, and saliva. The successful assessment has been completed for participants invited from the earlier phases of the BEH program, yielding extensive data for future analysis. In this phase of the BEH program, a total of 1,345 participants were enrolled in the study, a response rate of 64.7%. The mean (standard deviation) age was 74.3 (4.6) years and 50.4% of the participants were males. The third phase of the BEH program successfully repeated comprehensive measurements and expanded the biobank to include microbiota samples. These repeated measures will provide valuable longitudinal insights once analyzed, enabling researchers to examine changes in health-related variables over time and better understand the needs of older Iranian adults. Future analyses will address the specific objectives related to cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and cognitive health.

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