Cohort Profile: The China Metal-Exposed Workers Cohort Study (Jinchang Cohort)

The Jinchang Cohort was an ongoing 20-year ambispective cohort with unique metal exposures of an occupational population. Until now, the Jinchang Cohort has completed three phases of follow-up from January 2014 to December 2019. The baseline cohort was completed from June 2011 to December 2013, and a total of 48 001 people were included. Three phases of follow-ups included 46 713, 41 888 and 40 530 participants, respectively. The death data was collected from 2001 to 2020. The epidemiological, physical examination, physiological and biochemical data of the cohort were collected by using the methods of cross-section and prospective cohort study. Biological specimens were collected on baseline to establish a biological specimen bank. The concentrations of metals in urine and serum were detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The new areas of research aim to study the all-cases mortality, the burden of diseases, heavy metals and diseases, and course of the chain from disease to high-risk outcomes using a combination of macro and micro means, which provided scientific basic to explore pathogenesis of multi-etiology and multi-disease, and to evaluate the effects of the intervention measures in the population.