Suicidal ideation amongst epilepsy patients in a tertiary centre

Background and Objective: Epilepsy and depression are interlinked and lead to an increased risk of suicidal ideation and suicide. Although depression is a significant risk factor for suicidal ideation in epilepsy patients, epilepsy itself is independently associated with suicidal ideation. There are various other factors related to epilepsy that further increase this risk. Methods: We conducted a study of suicidal-ideation amongst epilepsy patients in our centre. Demographic data and clinical history were obtained while suicidal ideation was determined using the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Beck’s Depression Inventory–II (BDI-II) was used to identify presence of depression. Results: We recruited 80 patients with epilepsy and an equal number of controls. Epilepsy patients were more likely to be depressed with a mean BDI-II score of 9.09 ±6.48 compared to controls who has a mean score of 5.56 ±4.56. The proportion of epilepsy patients with suicidal ideation was 33.75% vs. 5.00% in the control group (p 3 anti-epileptic drugs or prior head surgery. Our findings suggest that assessment of suicidal ideation is pertinent in high-risk epilepsy patients and should be routinely carried out in the clinical setting.

[Prevalence of hepatitis B virus [HBV] infection among Iranian prisoners during 2001-2005]

To determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus [HBV] infection, as a blood borne viral infection, among prisoners and its associated factors in Iran. In this cross sectional study, 5317 inmates, who had stayed in prison for at least 3 months, were tested in 7 provinces from 2001 to 2005. The degree of contamination with HBV and its association with age and drug abuse were evaluated. The frequency of contamination with HBV ranged from 1% to 15% in different prisons. Overall frequency was 6.7% [95% CI: 6.1%-7.4%]. The crude and adjusted association between HBV infection and age was studied. While adjusted for prisons. The result showed no significant association between age and HBV infection [P = 0.88] based on Mantel Heanszel test. However, there was a significant association between HBV infection and drug abuse in two out of seven prisons [where the data was available]. The frequency of contamination with HBV infection is relatively high [more than twice] in prisons comparing to the general population [6.7% VS 2.8%]. Planning regular screening, preventive practices such as vaccination against HBV in prisoners as well as easy access to therapeutic facilities are highly recommended

Direct estimation of life expectancy for population of Iran in year 2003

Life expectancy is one of the summary measures of population health, whose values and trend of changes over time show the main outcome of health system performance. Estimation of life expectancy is performed with direct or model-based methods. In this study direct estimation of life expectancy for Iran's population in year 2003 is performed. In an ecologic study, for calculation of abridged period life table for 23 out of 28 provinces of Iran in year 2003, numbers of registered deaths for age and sex specific groups in these 23 provinces by death registration system of Ministry of Health [MOH] were used. Undernumeration of over-four year's deaths was estimated and corrected with Brass Growth-Balance method. For mortality rates of under-one and 1-4 years, similar rates from Demographic and Health Survey [DHS] 2000 with live births denominators were substituted. For total number of population of 23 provinces, information from MOH was used. Distribution of population by age and sex was taken similar to that from DHS 2003 results, and also taken as result of graduation of whole country population from 1375 census. Population of these 23 provinces was equal to 73% of total population of country in year 2003. Life expectancy was estimated by age and sex with the obtained population and death numbers. It was assumed that distributions of population and death in 23 provinces were similar to those for the whole 28 provinces of Iran in year 2003 and hence, the estimated life expectancy for 23 provinces is equal to that for all 28 provinces in 2003. Sensitivity of the results to assumptions was analyzed. Confidence intervals were calculated with Monte Carlo method. Life expectancy at birth was estimated as 71.56 years for total population [95% CI: 71.52 - 71.62], 70.09 years for males [70.02 - 70.16], and 73.17 [73.10 - 73.24] for females of Iran in year 2003. Sensitivity of results to assumptions was less than 0.5%. Values of life expectancy estimates for year 2003 with direct method are higher than those based on statistical modeling approaches performed by Statistical Center of Iran and by different United Nations agencies, due to difference in estimation methods for age and sex specific mortality rates

Mental health in high-tech system

Stress and mental health at the place of work have received great attention by researchers. In spite of technology improvement in high-tech systems, the operators face new problems, which can affect mental health. There is hardly any published research about stress or mental health in such workplaces in developing countries. This paper presents the application of the self-rating scale General Health Questionnaire [GHQ-28] to study mental health of 160 controllers working in a part of Air Traffic Control [ATC] as a high-tech system in Iran. Logistic regression analysis showed that demographic variables did not exhibit a statistically significant effect on scores of the test. In order to compare mental health of these operators with general population, an exposure / non-exposure study was designed. Three age groups [less than 29 years, 30 through 39 y, and more than 40 y] were compared in exposed and non-exposed groups. The results of Fisher's exact test showed that mental distress symptoms were significantly higher in the exposed group. There were significant job effects on somatization, anxiety and depression as well as on the total score of GHQ-28 for the two first age groups [P<.05]. No significant effects of the job were found on social dysfunction symptoms in any age groups. The risk ratio of expressing depression and anxiety symptoms were more than three times greater in these operators than general population