[Review of injuries leading to death in children aged 1to59 months in the area covered by Shahid Beheshti university of medical sciences from March 2011- March 2013]

Injuries have been identified as one of the most important causes of disability and death in humans, and children are more vulnerable to injuries than adults because of limitations in the detection of risk. The present study aimed to investigate the children aged 1 to 59 months death due to injuries cases in the area covered by the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. This survey was a cross-sectional and descriptive study conducted during the years 2011 to 2013. In this study all of the children aged 1 to 59 months deaths due to injuries cases that have occurred in the area covered by Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences were studied. Required data was extracted from registration forms of the child health office of Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The total number of deaths due to injuries recorded for children aged 1 to 59 month was 103. The most common causes of death were transport accidents, falls, drowning and respiratory obstruction. The highest frequency of death was observed in the children aged 1 to12months [24.3%]. More than half of the children who died were boys [54.4%]. Approximately 70% of deaths due to injuries in children aged1to 59 months were due to the four following causes: transport accidents, falls, drowning and respiratory obstruction. All of these causes are preventable, thus, designing interventions in order to reduce children's deaths is essential and should be considered as a priority by the national health planners.

Prevalence of positive family history of colorectal cancer in the Iranian general population

Individuals with a positive family history of colorectal cancer have an increased risk of developing this type of cancer. The number of affected relatives and the age at diagnosis are two factors that increase the risk of colorectal cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of a positive family history of colorectal cancer in a random sample among the Iranian general population. Five thousand five hundred [5500] subjects' aged>/-20 years were randomly selected by cluster sampling and invited to participate in an interview about the occurrence of colorectal cancer in their first- or second-degree relatives. Of all the responders, 162 [2.9%] subjects reported a positive family history of colorectal cancer; 71 [1.24%] reported having one first-degree relative with colorectal cancer diagnosed before the age of 50; or reported two or more first-degree relatives with colorectal cancer. In addition, 83 [1.51%] and 14 [0.25%] subjects reported having one and two or more second-degree relatives with colorectal cancer respectively. The prevalence of a positive family history of colorectal cancer in Iran is lower than the United States and European countries. Identifying high-risk population for colorectal cancer and encouraging them to participate in surveillance protocols is the first step in targeting preventive measures

Positive association between diabetes mellitus and risk of colorectal cancer

In recent years, many studies employed and found an association between type 2 diabetes mellitus and colorectal cancer. Although increased risk of colorectal cancer in individuals with Non Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus [NIDDM] has been observed in previous studies, limited information is available on the colorectal cancer associated with NIDDM in Iran. The purpose of this study was to define colorectal cancer risk associated with diabetes mellitus. The present study was designed as an unmatched case control study. Cases were 393 patients with histologically confirmed colorectal carcinomas and 393 controls were randomly selected among the healthy participants in a health survey. To control potential confounding factors such as sex, age, smoking habits and Body Mass Index [BMI], multiple logistic regression model was fitted to obtain Odds Ratio of colorectal cancer and the corresponding 95% CIs, according to history of diabetes mellitus. Overall, 86 [10%] cases versus 15 [1.7%] controls gave a history of diabetes mellitus. The corresponding multivariate OR was 6.77 [CI 95%: 3.84- 11.92] indicating that having a positive history of diabetes mellitus increases one's risk of colorectal cancer about six-fold. The risk of colorectal cancer was slightly increased for women [p<0.05]. Current smokers were at a higher CRC risk [OR=2.83, CI95%:2.13-3.76] than never smokers. We found a strong positive association between NIDDM and prevalent colorectal cancer. In summary, these findings provide further indirect epidemiological evidence for the hypothesis that hyperinsulinaemia may be important in the development of colorectal cancer