Validity and reliability of the Farsi version of the ECOS-16 questionnaire for females with osteoporosis

The purpose of this study was to develop a Persian version of ECOS-16 Questionnaire and assess its reliability and validity. Two hundred and twenty women with postmenopausal osteoporosis were included in the study. Patients who were diagnosed as secondary osteoporosis by clinical and laboratory examinations were excluded. For reliability, an internal consistency [Cronbach's alpha coefficient] of ECOS-16 total score was calculated. The age of the study participants ranged from 50 to 75 years old [59.9 +/- 7]. Cronbach's alpha of the Persian version of the ECOS-16 was 0.84. Therefore, the Persian version of the ECOS-16 is a reliable and valid questionnaire to be used in the evaluation of quality of life in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis

Effect of zinc sulphate on peptic ulcer disease

In-vitro study, the effect of zinc sulfate on healing ulcers is being shown but it is a limited study which has been done to demonstrate the effect of zinc sulfate on peptic ulcer in human. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of zinc sulfate on healing peptic ulcer disease. This was a double blind randomized clinical trial in which patients who were referred to endoscopy clinic in Sanandaj Besat hospital were included. Patients were allocated to intervention group [n=46] and control group [n=58] at random. All patients received standard treatment for ulcer containing Amoxicillin, Metronidazole, Omeprazole and Bismuth. For intervention group one zinc sulfate capsule [220 mg] was added to treatment regimen [one capsule on alternate day]. After four weeks, endoscopy was repeated again. The data was analyzed by SPSS software and x[2] Fisher exact and T test were used for analysis. There was no difference between intervention and control group in the same factors like smoking, alcohol, NSAID drugs consumption and the size of ulcer. Mean size of ulcers in intervention and control group before treatment were 24.6 [ +/- 17.7]mm and 22.5 [ +/- 21.2]mm respectively. The mean percentage size reductions of ulcer in intervention and control group after treatment were 92 [ +/- 14] percent and 89.4 [ +/- 16.4] percent which did not illustrate significant difference in two groups. This study confirms that zinc sulfate with the dosage of 220 mg on alternate days doesn't have significant effect on peptic ulcer healing. More studies with higher doses needs to be undertaken to determine effective dose of zinc

Osteoporosis in postmenopausal diabetic women; prevalence and related factors

Diabetes mellitus and osteoporosis are two frequent medical conditions with an increasing prevalence in elderly. This study is conducted to evaluate osteoporosis in postmenopausal females with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Sanandaj, the provincial center of Kurdistan province in the west of Iran. From an initial population of 2500 women with type 2 diabetes, 242 postmenopausal women were randomly selected and were compared with 221 non-diabetic postmenopausal women, matched by age and body mass index [BMI]. Bone mineral density [BMD] was measured at the L2-L4 vertebrae [anteroposterior projection] and femoral neck with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry [DXA]. The statistical significance was set at a P value of .05 or lower. Prevalence of femoral neck osteoporosis in diabetic women was 30.2 percent [73 cases] and osteopenia was 48.3 percent [117 cases]. Osteoporosis prevalence in spine was 7.9 percent [19 cases] and ostropenia was 46.3 percent [112 cases]. Osteoporosis in both femoral neck [P=0.001] and spine [P=0.04] were significantly higher in patients than in controls. Correlation between HbA1c and femoral neck [p=0.11, correlation coefficient=0.04] and also spine [p=0.10, correlation coefficient= -0.12] T score was not significant. No significant correlation was found between osteoporosis with presence of microalbuminuria [P=0.91], retinopathy [P=0.33], hypertension [P=0.70], ischemic heart disease [P=0.57] and insulin therapy [P=0.08]. This study shows that type 2 diabetic patients have significantly lower T score values and more frequency of osteoporosis than healthy postmenopausal women