The UAE healthy future study: a pilot for a prospective cohort study of 20,000 United Arab Emirates nationals

Abdishakur Abdulle,Jiyoung Ahn,Syed M Shah,Mohamed El-Sadig,Divya Galani,Tom Loney,Ayesha S Al Dhaheri ,Tomas Kirchhoff,Eiman Al Zaabi,Richard B Hayes ,Scott E Sherman ,Leila Abdel Wareth,Fatma Al-Maskari ,Teeb Alsharid,Ayesha Al Hosani,Claire K Inman,Tim Sprosen,Ann Marie Schmidt,Omar El-Shahawy ,Wael Al Mahmeed,Benjamin Hirsch,Abdullah Alnaeemi,Jamila Yaaqoub,Abderrahim Oulhaj,Fatima Al Maisary,Abdullah Aljunaibi,Thekra Al Zaabi,Aisha Al Hamiz,Fatme Al Anouti,Habiba Alsafar,Khaled Al Saedi,Naima Oumeziane,Marina Al Bastaki,Abdulrahman Al Ali,Mohammed Al-Houqani,Muna Abdalla Mohamed Haji ,Ravichandran Ramasamy,Raghib Ali

doi:10.1186/s12889-017-5012-2

Abstract

BackgroundThe United Arab Emirates (UAE) is faced with a rapidly increasing burden of non-communicable diseases including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The UAE Healthy Future study is a prospective cohort designed to identify associations between risk factors and these diseases amongst Emiratis. The study will enroll 20,000 UAE nationals aged ≥18 years. Environmental and genetic risk factors will be characterized and participants will be followed for future disease events. As this was the first time a prospective cohort study was being planned in the UAE, a pilot study was conducted in 2015 with the primary aim of establishing the feasibility of conducting the study. Other objectives were to evaluate the implementation of the main study protocols, and to build adequate capacity to conduct advanced clinical laboratory analyses.MethodsSeven hundred sixty nine UAE nationals aged ≥18 years were invited to participate voluntarily in the pilot study. Participants signed an informed consent, completed a detailed questionnaire, provided random blood, urine, and mouthwash samples and were assessed for a series of clinical measures. All specimens were transported to the New York University Abu Dhabi laboratories where samples were processed and analyzed for routine chemistry and hematology. Plasma, serum, and a small whole blood sample for DNA extraction were aliquoted and stored at −80 °C for future analyses.ResultsOverall, 517 Emirati men and women agreed to participate (68% response rate). Of the total participants, 495 (95.0%), 430 (82.2%), and 492 (94.4%), completed the questionnaire, physical measurements, and provided biological samples, respectively.ConclusionsThe pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of recruitment and completion of the study protocols for the first large-scale cohort study designed to identify emerging risk factors for the major non-communicable diseases in the region.

Highlights

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is faced with a rapidly increasing burden of non-communicable diseases including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease
More than a quarter (29%) of all deaths in the UAE are attributable to cardiovascular disease (CVD) [4], with a high prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors [5]
For the sample size calculation, we focus on risk factors for Diabetes

Summary

Introduction

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is faced with a rapidly increasing burden of non-communicable diseases including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Compared to the United States, one of the countries with the highest obesity burden, the rate of pre-diabetes or diabetes in the UAE, is far higher at 44% [1], according to the criteria from the American Diabetes Association (ADA). This increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is largely attributable to complex co-determinants and risk factors including individual health habits (e.g., smoking, diet, and physical activity) [7], environmental factors [8], genetic susceptibility [9], human microbial milieu (microbiome) [10], and socioeconomic conditions [11]

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Results

Conclusion