Objective: The Mashhad stroke and heart atherosclerotic disorder (MASHAD) study is a 10-year cohort study that aims to evaluate the impact of various genetic, environmental, nutritional and psychosocial risk factors on the incidence of cardiovascular events among an urban population in eastern Iran.
Methods: The MASHAD study comprises a cohort of 9704 individuals aged 35-65 years using a stratified cluster random sampling design. This cohort will be followed up until 2020, with follow-up examinations being undertaken every 3 years. Ten-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk estimation was determined using NCEP ATP III criteria.
Results: Overall, 88.4 % of women and 79.2 % of men (P < 0.001) had at least one lipid abnormality. The 10-year risk for CVD of <10, 10-20 and >20 % were observed to be 86.6, 11 and 2.5 %, respectively. Predicted risk of CVD > 10 % using the Framingham algorithm was considerably higher in men compared to women. Overall, 9.5 % [95 % confidence interval (CI) 8.9-10.1 %] of our subjects had prevalent CAD.
Conclusion: The prevalence of CVD risk factors within our population is high compared to Western countries, indicating the necessity for interventional risk modifications.