Barrackpore is an old and famous administrative territory, dotted with people from almost all provinces of India. It is situated at a longitude of 22.76°N and latitude of 88.37°E being quiet closer to Kolkata (Capital of West Bengal), Barrackpore is located in the North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal which is quite close to Kolkata, capital of the state. The only Military Cantonment and Police Training Academy of the state are both located in this area. The Hooghly river which flows through the western part of the Barrackpore. The climate in the area is hot and humid throughout the year except from November to February when it is pleasant. It has a glorious history of cultural, religious and social developments. Barrackpore is ideal for epidemiological studies due to a stable population and the generous support from the community in participating in research activities.
The location of the population cohort is in Barrackpore Municipal area in North 24 Pargana district of West Bengal state of India. The municipal area is divided into 24 administrative wards, from which six wards (Ward No. 3, 6, 11, 15, 18, 22) are randomly selected for the longitudinal study.
To find out the prevalence of selective diseases, provide a community service in detection, treatment and prevention of disease and conduct longitudinal surveys for risk factors including prediction of mortality from specific diseases in an Indian population, also to compare prevalence of these diseases and risk factors with other populations.
The study objectives: To gather and record the parameters of normal health of community individuals, to estimate the prevalence of communicable and non-communicable diseases, to provide useful information from longitudinal surveys including fixed interval cross sectional work to improve community health and reduce disease burden also measure the changes over time and to compare study population with western populations.