Low incidence of colorectal cancer in Kerman province, Iran

In Iran colorectal cancer [CRC] incidence varies among various places. But we do not have any validate data that deeply explored the difference of CRC in Kerman province by national average. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of colon cancer within a 12-year period in Kerman province and to find whether the incidence of CRC in Kerman compared with the total incidence found in Iran. Data on colorectal cancer was collected from all histopathology departments around the Kerman Province during 1991 - 2002 retrospectively. The crude and age-standardized incidence rates per 1 million populations were calculated based on the 1996 census data and the population growth rate. During this study total number of 551 new cases of colorectal cancer in Kerman province had been diagnosed. Age Standardized Rate of colon cancer in males and females were 50 [95% CI: 44-56] and 53 [95% CI: 46-59] cases per 1,000,000 population per year, respectively. The risk ratio in females relative to males was not significant in any type of colon cancer. We did not find any difference for each year during the entire study period. The ASR of colorectal cancer in Kerman province was quite lower than the average rate in the whole country. This study showed that, the risk of acquiring colon cancer was constant. We concluded that the risk of colorectal cancer in Kerman province was much lower than the entire country

Epidemiological aspects of oral and pharyngeal cancer in Kerman province, south eastern Iran

Epidemiologic aspects of oral and pharyngeal cancers in Iran have not been studied adequately. We evaluated age-adjusted incidence rates by sex using pathological confirmed cases between 1991 and 2002 in Kerman Province, south eastern Iran. The information of cases was collected actively from all of the 18 histopathology departments around the province. The standardize risks were estimated using standard world population and the risk ratio for age and sex were estimated using negative binomial model. The total number of newly diagnosed malignant oral and pharyngeal cancers was 334, represented 3.1% of all newly diagnosed cancers. The age-adjusted incidence rate for oropharyngeal cancers was 2.21 cases per 100 000 populations per year. The results suggested that those age 40 and over were 18.1 times more likely to develop oral and pharyngeal cancer than the younger group. The risk of developing oral and pharyngeal cancers was 1.75 times more common in males than females. This study showed that the overall incidence of oral and pharyngeal cancers in Kerman Province was lower than that in most parts of the world. The lower incidence might be due to behavioral differences such as low consumption of alcohol, chewing tobacco, and spicy foods

[ effectiveness of multidimentional psychological treatment in enhancing the adherence to medical treatment in adolescents with type 1 diabetes]

A chronic illness, such as diabetes mellitus, creates changes in the life style and requires constant adjustment. The onset of a chronic illness can be a stressful event in any life stage including adolescence. The interaction between the illness related problems and the psychosocial changes associated with normal adolescence makes it difficult for the patient to cope with the chronic illness in a constructive way. Poor adherence to medical treatment and poor drug compliance are common concerns of the families and physicians dealing with diabetic adolescents. It is of an urgent importance to study effective, culturally appropriated interventions which focus on the high-risk diabetic adolescents with severe adherence difficulties and/or chronically poor metabolic control. This was a randomized controlled trial [Experimental design]. The sample consisted of sixty randomly selected male and female diabetic adolescents living in Esfahan, with an age range between 12 to 18 years old. They were randomly assigned to four groups with different subjects of training including: personal self-efficacy, communication skills, both subjects and no training [control group]. The scale of self-efficacy in diabetes and Family Assessment Device [FAD] were then administered to all participants. Treatment adherene was also evaluated using laboratory tests for Hemoglobin A1C [HbA1c] index. Data were analysed using the one-way Analysis of the Variance [one-way ANOVA]. Significant difference was found between the groups regardind the scores of self-efficacy [F=3.725, P=0.017], FAD [F=4.151, P=0.01] and communication [F=8.302, P=0.000], as well as HbA1c results [F=3.088, P=0.035]. For preventing the short and the long term side effects of the diabetes mellitus, patients' treatment adherence should be improved. Psychological interventions for enhancing self-efficacy and improving communication skills can be effective in this respect