Cohort study

The purpose of the survey was to provide baseline information on HIV and AIDS in the Most-At-Risk Populations (MARPs) and Most-At-Risk Adolescents (MARA). The study was conducted in Male', Addu and Laamu, and focused on high risk behavior groups including female sex workers (FSWs), men who have sex with men (MSM), injecting drug users (IDUs), occupational cohorts of men (OCM), and youth ages 15-24 (Y).
 
A behavioral survey and serological survey were conducted on all groups. 102 FSWs were interviewed and 94 given blood tests using snowball sampling. 126 MSMs were interviewed and 124 given blood tests using snowball sampling. 276 IDUs were interviewed and 278 given blood tests using snowball sampling. 660 OCMs were interviewed and 686 given blood tests using using simple random and cluster sampling. 605 youth were interviewed and 609 given blood tests using cluster sampling. The country plans on collecting data on a sample population of Maafushi prisoners, and were not included here.

The study consisted of a set of technical trials and an observational study targeted to post-menopausal women. The clinical trials tested the effects of postmenopausal hormone therapy, diet modification, calcium and vitamin D supplements of heart disease, fractures, and breast and colorectal cancer. The observational study aimed to give reliable estimates to the extent known risk factors predicted heart disease, cancers and fractures, and to identify new risk factors. A total of 93,676 women participated on the observational study. Overall, including both the observational and clinical trials 161,808 women participated.