ABSTRACT
The incidence of cardiovascular disease [CVD] is rapidly increasing at an alarming rate worldwide and is currently considered as the leading cause of death in both developing and developed countries. The aim of the present study is to determine the prevalence and clear analysis of cardiovascular risk factors among army population and provide a guideline for improving the health status of army personnel. This is a cross-sectional study on the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among 341 male subjects from a military population in southern Iran. Each eligible participant was evaluated in the military clinic in Shiraz, Southern Iran. Information regarding demographic and life style were obtained from each subject. Arterial blood pressure, weight, height, body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC] and hip circumference [HC], fasting blood glucose, lipid profile consisting of total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglyceride were measured by standard methods. Mean age of the population under study was 35.1 +/- 7.5 years. Twenty-nine [8.8%] individuals were hypertensive whereas 108 [32.9%] had blood pressure in the range of pre-hypertension. According to laboratory investigations, 29 [8.5%] participants had glucose intolerance while 6 [1.8%] of them had diabetes mellitus. On the other hand, prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia were 104 [30.5%] and 114 [33.4%] respectively. Twenty-eight [8.2%] subjects had criteria for metabolic syndrome. Clinical and Para-clinical data indicated that army population in southern Iran had a low level of CVD risk factors that may be related to their life styles
ABSTRACT
Metabolic syndrome [MetS] is rapidly rising at an alarming rate through all parts of the world. Elevated serum aminotransferase was proposed as a marker for early detection of MetS. In this investigation we primarily aimed to evaluate the prevalence of MetS and its components among army and secondly to explore the association between elevated serum aminotransferase and the components of metabolic syndrome. A total of 380 army personnel from a military camp in Southern Iran participated in this cross-sectional study. Life style related characteristics, anthropometric features, serum aminotransferase and components of MetS, based on National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III, were measured. Statistical significant was set as p value less than 0.05. The mean age of participants was 35.0 +/- 7.5 year-old and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 8.1%. The prevalence of the components of MetS including; central obesity, abnormal fasting blood glucose, hypertension, hypertriglycridemia and low HDL cholesterol level was 8.6%, 10.4%, 18.5%, 31%, and 45.5% respectively. MetS had significant relationship with obesity [P<0.001] and abnormal Waist Circumferance/Hip Circumference ratio [P<0.001]. Twenty-six percent of subjects had ALT >/= 41 U/L and 4.9% of them had ALT >/= 81. Elevated serum aminotransferase had significant association with presence of MetS [P= 0.007]. Although prevalence of metabolic syndrome among the studied army population was not high, life style modification of army members is recommended. Liver function tests should be included in routine health checkup of military personnel
ABSTRACT
Influenza type A [H1N1] virus is considered as a major concern for health care system all over the world and imposes a considerable burden on the community. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pattern of the disease in order to help health administrators in making decision for preventive measures. 297 definite cases of influenza A [H1N1] diagnosed from 15 July to 3 December 2009 in Fars province, south of Iran, were included in this study. Diagnosis was confirmed performing Real time-PCR. The patients' information including age, gender, occupation, nationality, education, residency area and history of overseas or domestic travel, history of contact with other influenza patients, and symptoms were collected and analyzed. The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 24.4 +/- 15.8 years. 76 [25.6%] patients were admitted in the hospitals, of whom, 11 cases died due to related influenza complications with Case Fatality Ratio [CFR] of 4.4%. The most common reported symptoms were fever, cough and sore throat. There were two waves in the disease incidence, one about 1 month after emergence of the disease and another around 1 month after school openings. The first peak was observed mainly among adults with a history of foreign travel while the second peak was mainly observed among school students. The magnitude of the epidemic was much higher when the disease was transmitted between students at the beginning of the school year. Considering the high incidence of H1N1 flu among the students [41%], vaccination programs and preventive measures should target this age group
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Disease Outbreaks , Influenza, Human , Comorbidity , Incidence , Prevalence , MortalityABSTRACT
Otomycosis is a superficial mycotic infection of the outer ear canal caused by many saprophytic fungi that could be considered as causative agents. Detection of the fungal agents in the external auditory canal could be valuable to determine the potential risk of otomycosis. The aim of this study was to identify the mycoflora of the human auditory canal in healthy individuals in Shiraz, southern Iran. During three months, a total of 486 ear samples of 243 healthy individuals [100 females and 143 males] were randomly collected by sterile swabs and cultivated on Mycosel and Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with antibiotics. Fungal isolates were identified using conventional methods and chromogenic media. Ten point twenty eight percent of the individuals were positive for ear fungal infections. Fungal species belonged to eight genera including Penicillium, Cladosporium, Candida, Aspergillus, Alternaria, Rodotorula, Exophiala and Dematiaceous fungi. In this study, Aspergillus niger, the major cause of otomycosis, was not isolated. Our findings suggest that the normal fungal otic infections in the presence of predisposing factors could be a potential cause for otomycosis