nationwide survey on the daily screen time of Iranian children and adolescents: the Caspian - IV study

Leisure time activity is an important life-style habit. This study aims to determine the screen time of a nationally representative sample of Iranian children and adolescents. This nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted as part of the fourth survey of a surveillance system. The participants consisted of 14880 students, with aged range from 6 to 18 years, living in 30 provinces in Iran. Screen time, i.e. the time spent on watching television [TV]/video and computer games during leisure time, was assessed by using the questionnaire of the Globasl Student Health Survey of the World Health Organization. The study participants were 13486 school students [participation rate of90.6%] with a mean age of12. 47 [3.36] years. Overall, 75.6% of students were from urban and 24.4% from rural areas and 50.8% were boys respectively. Overall, 33.4% and 53% of students watched TV/video more than 2 h a day in their leisure time during school days and holidays, respectively. Likewise, 6.3% and 10.9% of students used computer more than 2 h a day in their leisure time during the school days and holidays, respectively. Overall, 47.1% of urban students and 24.2% of rural students used personal computer in their leisure time during the school days. The corresponding figures were 50.8% and 27.2% in weekends and holidays, respectively. The time spent on screen activities is long in a considerably high number of Iranian children and adolescents. It should be reduced by increasing the public awareness and by providing facilities for regular daily physic activity for students' leisure times

Association of overweight and obesity with mental distress in Iranian adolescents: the CASPIAN-III study

Excess weight may be associated with mental distress and this relationship varies according to the socio-cultural background of different populations. This study aims to assess the relationship of overweight and obesity with some psychological disorders in a nationally representative sample of Iranian adolescents. This nationwide study was conducted in 2009-2010 among 5570 students, aged 10-18 years, living in 27provinces in Iran. Data were collected by using the translated and validated questionnaire of the World Health Organization Global School-based Health Survey. Data of 5528 students [49.7% girls] were complete for this study. Their mean age was 14.7 [2.4] years. Overall 7.9% of participants were overweight and 8.8% were obese. 58.7% of students had anxiety, without significant association of overweight [odds ratio [OR]: 0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.68-1.09] and obesity [OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 0.88-1.40] with an anxiety. Nearly 62.6% of students reported to have depression, there was no significant relationship between overweight [OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 0.86-1.43] obesity and [OR: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.79-1.29] with the depression. About 49.4% of students had insomnia, without significant association of overweight [OR: 1.17, 95% CI:, 0.91-1.51] and obesity [OR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.71-1.17] with the insomnia. In Iranian adolescents, excess weight did not increase the risk of psychological distress. This finding might be due to the positive attitude of family and peers to fatness in adolescence

Frequency, causes, and places of unintentional injuries in a nationally representative sample of Iranian children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-IV study

This study aims to assess the frequency, causes, and places of injuries in a nationally representative sample of Iranian children and adolescents, as well as the referral, places allocated for injured individuals. This nationwide study was conducted in 2011-2012 among 13486 elementary, secondary and high-school students who were selected by random cluster stratified multistage sampling from 30 provinces in Iran. The Global School-based Health Survey questionnaire of the World Health Organization was used. The study participants consisted of 50.8% boys, 75.6% urban resident with a mean age of 12.5 years. Overall, 20.25% of participants reported that they were minimally injured once in the last 12 months; this prevalence was higher in boys than in girls [25.74% vs. 14.58%, respectively, P < 0.001], without significant difference in urban [20.11%] and rural [20.69%] areas. Most of them [39.92%] were injured at homes or house yards with higher prevalence in girls than in boys [48.61% vs. 35.17%, respectively, P < 0.001] and in rural than in urban areas [27.30% vs. 20.89%, respectively, P < 0.001]. Schools were reported as the second prevalent site of injury occurrence [22.50%]. Emergency departments and physician offices were the most prevalent referral places for injured individuals [32.31% and 22.38%, respectively]. Most of the school injuries occurred during play or sport activities [45.92%]. Prevention of unintentional injuries should be considered as a health priority. Appropriate preventive strategies should be enhanced at homes and schools

[Prevalence of allergic rhinitis in 13-14 year old school children in Hamedan]

Allergic Rhinitis [AR] is an inflammatory disorder of the nasal mucosa characterized by nasal congestion, rhinorrhea and itching and often accompanied by sneezing and conjunctival irritation. Two prerequisites for the expression of AR are sensitivity to an allergen and its presence in the environment. Recognition of allergens and removal and avoidance of them can decrease the prevalence of AR. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of AR in Hamedan, Iran, and recognition of effective factors involved in expression of AR. The study was undertaken between October 2005 and June 2006 among 13- to 14-year-old children in middle-schools of Hamedan. Data were collected using the standardized ISAAC written questionnaire for prevalence of AR and another questionnaire for effective factors on AR including gender, season of expression of AR, smoking parents, keeping pets and birds, apartment plants, breast milking and family size. In the second phase the students with AR were examined for signs of AR. A total of 1600 [900 girls and 700 boys] children participated in the study. 17.7% of the children had symptoms of allergic rhinitis sometime in their life. There was no significant difference between prevalence of AR between boys and girls [18.6% in the boys and 17% in the girls] [p>0.05]. 37.2% of the cases were perennial and 62.8% of them were seasonal or mixed type. AR was more prevalent in spring [21%]. The prevalence of the disease between students with smoking parents and non smoking parents were 30.6% and 11.2% respectively [P=0.001]. The prevalence of the disease between students with pets and without pets were 23.1% and 17.7% respectively [P=0.001]. Presence of apartment plants, type of nutrition and family size had no effect on prevalence of AR [P>0.05]. The most common signs of AR were allergic shiners [54%] and clear and dilute nasal secretion [51%]. Compared with previous studies conducted in other Iranian cities using similar method, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis was lower in Hamedan. The prevalence of AR may be reduced with avoidance of smoking and removal of pets