Deaths of children aged under 5 years and related factors in the Islamic Republic of Iran: a population-based case-control study

The study was conducted to determine the family, social and economic factors associated with deaths of children aged under 5 years. A registry-based nested case-control study was conducted of the deaths of all children aged under 5 years in Kohgilooyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province in the Islamic Republic of Iran. For each death, two controls were randomly selected among children of the same age, sex and place of residence [186 cases and 372 controls]. Congenital abnormality [37.6%] and preterm birth [29.0%] were the two most frequent causes of death among children aged under 5 years. No vaccine-preventable disease was reported as the cause of death. The strongest associations were found with consanguinity of the parents [OR = 3.92; 95% CI = 2.27-6.85 for being first cousins in comparison with no family relation; P < 0.001] and with domestic violence to the mother during pregnancy [OR = 3.13; 95% CI = 1.60-6.17; P < 0.01]. The main causes of death of children aged under 5 years in the Province were congenital abnormality and prematurity

Cancer incidence appears to be rising in a small province in Islamic Republic of Iran: a populationbased cohort study

In 2006 the Iranian national cancer registry reported that Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, a small province located in the southern part of the country, had a low incidence rate of almost all types of cancer. In a population-based cohort study, data on 660 cases of cancer in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province were analysed after ICD codes had been rechecked and duplicates removed. Over the period 2007-2009 the annual average incidence rate of all cancers rose significantly by 53.0% and 115.1% in men and women respectively. Cancers of the prostate, thyroid, bladder and soft tissues decreased over the study period. Despite the recorded rise, the incidence rates for different sites of cancer [except for skin cancer] were significantly lower compared with their corresponding national rates for 2006. The results point to improvements in the cancer diagnosis and registry in the province, although real changes in cancer incidence over the period cannot be ruled out

National guidelines for outbreak investigation: an evaluation study

This paper reports an independent epidemiological study to evaluate the validity of the results of an official investigation into an outbreak of gastroenteritis at a university campus in Yasuj, central-south Islamic Republic of Iran. The official report of the outbreak by the Department for Disease Control at the provincial health centre found only 65 cases over a 5-day period, all females, living in the student halls of residence. This contrasts with a questionnaire survey of 963 students at the same university, which found 395 students [192 males and 203 females], living in residences and at home, who reported at least 1 gastrointestinal symptom over a 12-week period. Within this period at least 2 outbreaks occurred. Such a large discrepancy between the official report and the current study suggests that the health services and the public may have been misled about the proper response to the outbreak.