[Incidence rate of gastric cancer and its relationship with geographical factors using GIS in Khuzestan Province between 2009 and 2013]

Background and Aim: Cancers have a special place in health programs because of the costs of diagnosis and treatment as well as their irreversible complications. Distribution of diseases and their relationship with certain geographical areas is a confirmed subject producing a scientific background for medical geography. This study aimed to determine the five-year incidence of gastric cancer and its relationship with geographical factors in Khuzestan Province between 2009 and 2013

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study we assessed the incidence rate and relationship of gastric cancer with environmental, geographic and climatic factors. The study included all patients with gastric cancer in Khuzestan Province, between 2009 and 2013. The demographic and pathologic data of the patients had been recorded in a comprehensive cancer registration system. Using SPSS version 16, data were analyzed by independent T-test, Kruskai-Wallis test and ANOVA. Mapping of climatic factors was performed by Arc GIS.ver10.3 software

Results: 1587 patients with gastric cancer had been recorded between 2009 and 2013 in the province's comprehensive cancer registration system. The mean age of the patients was 62.57 +/- 14.17 years. 1047 patients [66%] were male, and 540 [34%] were female. The cumulative incidence of gastric cancer, was estimated as 35 per hundred thousand people. The relationship between gastric cancer and mean rainfall was statistically significant [p: 0.04]

Conclusion: The incidence rates of gastric cancer in different regions of the Khuzestan Province were not the same which can be related to the demographic variables as well as different geographic and climatic factors. Therefore, in order to identify the related risk factors in different regions further epedemeological and etiological studies are recommended

[Survival rate estimation and its associated factors in patients with stomach cancer in Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj]

Estimation of the survival rate after diagnosis is an important indicator of treatment process in cancer patients. The aim of the present study was to determine 5-yearsurvival rate and its associated factors in the patients with stomach cancer. This was a descriptive analytical study. We reviewed records of 239 patients with confirmed diagnosis of stomach cancer who had been hospitalized at Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj city, during a five-year interval from 2006 onwards. Survival rate was calculated according to the Kaplan-Meier and by using Log rank statistical methods. Our study included 178 male [74.5%] and 61 female [25.5%] patients with a mean age of 68.8 +/- 11.97 years. The mean maximum survival rate was 19.85 months [CI 95%: 16.46-23.24] which belonged to the patients with intestinal type of tumors [60.6%, n=145], followed by the patients who had surgical therapy [10.3%, n=21] with a mean survival rate of 15.67 months [CI95%: 8.78-22.58]. Variables such as gender, residential areas, and history of stomach cancer in first degree relatives, history of symptoms of gastric diseases, cigarette smoking and psychiatric disorders during treatment course showed no significant association with mean survival rate. The mean survival rate in the patients which their cancer had been diagnosed at early stages was 14.86 months [CI 95%, 12.77-16.94] which was significantly higher as compared to those with late diagnosis of the disease[P=0.049]. One to five year survival rates were 41%, 17%, 13%, 10% and 5.4% respectively. Early diagnosis of stomach cancer increases 5 years survival rate in the patients significantly

[Prevalence of life-time back pain in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis]

Nowadays, Back pain as a multi-causal phenomenon is considered a major problem in most communities. It may be caused as a result of psychological, social and ergonomic factors. There is no precise statistical report on the prevalence of back pain in Iran. The aim of this study was to estimate the life-time prevalence of back pain in Iran using systematic review and meta-analysis. Twenty research papers on the prevalence of low-back pain using "back-pain prevalence" as the key words were obtained from the databases such as Magiran, MEDLIBE, SID, Google scholar and databases in English such as Pubmed and Scopus. Data analysis was performed by using meta-analysis [random model effects]. Heterogeneity among the studies was assessed by means of I[2] test. The estimated prevalence of life-time back pain in our study with a sample size of 5670 patients obtained from 20 papers was 51%[95% CI: 40.1-61.8]. Prevalence of lifetime back pain among the medical staff with an average of 54.6% [95% CI: 42.9-66.3] was more than the prevalence of other social groups. The highest and lowest prevalence rates of back pain were observed in Mazandaran Province and southern parts of Iran, with an average of 84/1% and 13%, respectively. The highest prevalence rate was observed in the age range of 15 to 45 years with an average of 54.2% [95% CI: 6.42-65.9]. The results of this study indicated that back pain must be considered a social problem. Therefore the health authorities are expected to inform people through the mass media in order to prevent back pain and decrease its prevalence

[Comparing the predictability of bmi and whr, both independently and combined, for occurence of mi in males: tlgs]

Obesity is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and myocardial infarction [MI]. The current study aimed to compare BMI, WHR, both independently and combined, in predicting risk of MI in men. Of 5183 TLGS participants, aged over 30 years, 2206 [45.5%] were men. Mean follow up time was 6.7 years. WHR and BMI were converted to standard normal distribution and then combined and a new variable [Z score] was defined. Data analyzed by using Cox proportional hazard regression. MI occurred in 53 participants during follow up. The incidence rate of MI was 390 in 100000 people. Relative risk [RR] of MI for men with BMI and WHR above the third quartile were 2.7 and 3.9 times higher than those with BMI and WHR in first quartile [P<0.01]. Cox proportional hazard regression showed that WHR adjusted for age is a better index than BMI in predicting risk of MI amongst men. Combination of BMI and WHR could predict risk of MI in men with more accuracy compared to each of the BMI and WHR variables alone. Cox proportional hazard regression showed that with each increasing unit of Z score, the risk of MI increases 29%. A combination of WHR and BMI has higher predictability for MI risk than either WHR or BMI per se.