Malnutrition among first year school children in Iraq

Iraqi people have endured an excess burden of morbidity and mortality during the last two decades due to wars and sanctions. This report was carried out to assess the nutritional status of first year primary school children. A total of 3881 school children in Balad district in Salahadin governorate was included in the study. Age, height and weight were recorded. Malnutrition was regarded as value of less than 2 SD of the reference value. Among the total sample, 16.5%, 20.06% and 15.3% were underweight, stunted and wasted, respectively. No significant difference was detected in malnutrition rates between both sexes. High rates of malnutrition were detected among school children

HBV markers and antibody protective level among Iraqi vaccinated and unvaccinated subjects

Iraq is among countries of intermediate hepatitis B endemicity. Although several studies have been carried out on the prevalence of HBV markers, no previous study was done to determine the protective antibody level after HBV vaccination. Therefore, this study was carried out to detect HBV markers and antibody protective level among vaccinated and unvaccinated Iraqi subjects. A total of 400 subjects [298 thalassaemic patients and 102 [healthy] subjects] were included in the study for the period 1[st] Oct. 2002 to 28[th] Feb. 2003. Thalassaemic patients represent the vaccinated group, and the [healthy] subjects represent the unvaccinated control group. The same rate of HBsAg was detected in vaccinated and unvaccinated groups [2%]. Protective anti-HBs level was demonstrated in 229 [76.8%] and 25 [24.5%] of vaccinated and unvaccinated groups, respectively. The protective rate of protective level of anti-HBs among those who receive three primary doses of vaccine [77.7%] was significantly higher than among those who did not complete the course of vaccination. The rate of protective anti-HBs level among those who received the full course of vaccination is lower than that reported in literature. Improper vaccination or handling of the vaccine could also contribute to this low level as result of deterioration of health services during the last 2 decades

Lipid profile among diabetics in Al-Ramadi City, Iraq

Hyperlipidemia is a strong predictor risk of cardiovascular events. There are insufficient data on the lipid profile in diabetics in Iraq. This study was carried out to determine the lipid profile among diabetics in AI-Anbar governorate. A total of 136 diabetics [116 were with type 2 diabetes and 20 were with type 1 diabetes] attending Al-Ramadi general hospital, A l-Anbar, were included in the study. Total cholesterol, triglyceride [TG], high density lipoprotein [HDL], low density lipoprotein [LDL] and very low density lipoprotein [VLDL] were estimated. Elevated total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, VLDL and TG were detected among patients with type I and type2 diabetes. Only level of TG was associated with the duration oftype2 diabetes, while levels of LDL, VLDL and HDL were significantly associated with duration of type 1 diabetes. Lipid and diabetes awareness program for Iraqi population should be applied in an attempt to improve the overall health status of Iraqi population