comparison of direct technique and formalin-ether method in determining parasitic infection among health-card applicants in shahroud city

Parasitic infection is one of the major health problems in the world. This study aimed at comparing the accuracy of two methods of direct examination and Formalin-Ether to detect the presence of parasitic infection among health-card applicants in Shahroud city, 2011. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 801 patients seeking health-card. From each patient, three consecutive stool samples were taken and investigated, using direct examination and formalin-ether method, The use of formalin-ether method in recognizing the parasitic infection specially Giardia lamblia and Entamobea coh'is more than the direct method. The formalin-ether method is a more sensitive method than the direct method. But in circumstances that is urgency to respond or aims to see the shape of trophozoite, the use of direct method is recommended

[Study of Tehran physician's intensity for administration of herbal drug based on their prescription in the time period between 2007-2008 in 3 university related drugstores]

It may be necessary to accomplish an investigation based on the extensive and deep studies about the situation and status of herbal medicines in different societies. Investigation of prescribed herbal medicines by physicians -as one of the high educated portion of the society and also as the eligible population for prescription of herbal medicines - and also evaluation of drug prescriptions considering the administration of herbal medicines can determine the situation and status of herbal medicines in health policy of a country. In this article the interest of the physicians for administration of herbal medicines, the effect of different variables such as age, sex and type of specialty of physicians, the effect of type of season and finally the effect of type of municipal district as the marker for determination of quality of life on amount of prescribed herbal medicines have been studied. This study, was accomplished in the time period between 1[st] Farvadin till 30[th] Esfand of the year 1386 in 3 university related drugstores - i.e. Taleghani, Abedini and Isar- the drug stores have been selected in the manner that different districts of the city is included in the study. Totally, 5040 drug prescriptions for all over the year have been statistically investigated. The interest for prescription of herbal medicines by physicians is very low. Variables include municipal district of the city with different levels of quality of life, age of physicians, type of specialty, level of education and therapeutic category of drugs have influenced on the interest of physicians for prescription of herbal medicine but sex of physician has no significant effect on this interest. Totally, there is a low interest for prescription of herbal medicines by physicians

Neonatal mortality risk factors in a rural part of Iran: a nested case-control study

Due to complex causal framework of neonatal mortality, improvement of this health indicator is quite gradual and it's decreasing trend is not as great as other health indicators such as infant and under 5 mortality rates.This study was conducted to evaluate neonatal mortality risk factors based on nested case-control design. The study population was 6900 neonates who were born in rural areas of Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad province [South of Iran]. They were under follow up till the end of neonatal period and the outcome of interest was neonatal death. By using risk set sampling method, 97 cases and 97 controls were selected in study cohort. Prematurity [OR = 5.57], LBW [OR= 7.68], C-section [OR = 7.27], birth rank more than 3 [OR = 6.95] and birth spacing less than 24 months [OR = 4.65] showed significant statistical association [P < 0.05] with neonatal mortality. The Population Attributable Fraction [PAF] was 0.45 for LBW, 0.40 for prematurity, 0.28 for C-section, 0.30 for birth rank more than 3, and 0.16 for birth spacing less than 24 months. Prematurity, low birth weight, C-section, birth spacing less than 24 months and birth rank more than 3 are important risk factors for neonatal mortality

Socioeconomic status and obesity relationship in non-menopause women aged 15-49 years in Tehran, Iran

To investigate the association between socio-economic status and obesity in non-menopause women aged 15-49 years in Tehran, Iran. This study was based on Iran National Health Survey conducted in 1999. Obesity is defined as a Body Mass Index over >/= 30. Constructed area [per-person], educational level and job are considered as factors indicating the socioeconomic status. The results have been adjusted for age and mental health using univariate and multiple logistic regression. A total number of 2859 non-menopause women aged 15-49 yr from urban areas of Tehran have been studied. The prevalence of obesity and overweight were 16.4%and 28.4% respectively. Women aged 30-49 yr had greater risk of obesity [adjusted OR=2.53, 95% CI: 1.99-3.20]. Comparing with students, homemakers and employees were at higher risk of obesity [adjusted OR=4.33, 95% CI: 2.47-7.76, adjusted OR= 2.82, 95%CI: 1.41-5.63 respectively]. Those with >=12 years of education had lower risk of obesity compared to illiterate women [adjusted OR=.57, 95% CI: 0.38-0.86]. The role of social factors is dominant over economic factor on obesity. This fact should be considered as one of the most important research priorities in future researches

[Evaluation of the effects of high-risk pregnancy on neonatal mortality in a rural area of Iran: a nested case-control study]

A pregnancy can be considered high-risk if there are conditions that put the mother or the baby at higher-than-average risk of morbidity or mortality. Neonatal mortality rate is one of the most important indices of children's health status. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of high-risk states on neonatal mortality. We performed a nested identified case-control study in the rural areas of Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad province. Within the study cohort, 97 cases and 97 controls were selected by a risk-set sampling method. Data were analyzed with univariate and multivariate conditional logistic regression models. Neonatal mortality was shown to increase significantly in high-risk pregnancies. There were no substantial differences between crude odds ratios and those adjusted for the presence of other risk factors [crude odds ratio decreased from 5.5 to an adjusted figure of 3.25 for pregnancies with one risk factor and from 5.21 to adjusted level of 4.80 for pregnancies with more than one risk factor]. High-risk pregnancies need great attention in family health and prenatal care programs, especially in remote rural areas. Within our rural health network there are potential cohorts for use in nested case-control studies, especially in the evaluation of neonatal mortality risk factors

[Goiter survey and urinary iodine concentration in 7-10-year-old children, Kohkilouyeh-Va-Bouyerahmad province, 2001]

Iodine deficiency disorder [IDD] is a worldwide health problem. Parts of Iran, such as Kohkilouyeh-va-Bouyerahmad, had been known as endemic areas for goiter. IDD was accepted as a priority health problem in our country and a National IDD Council was formed in 1989. This study was performed to evaluate the National IDD Council program in 2001 among 7-10-year-old children in Kohkilouyeh-va-Bouyerahmad province. In this cross sectional study, 1200 children [M/F ratio=1], aged 7-10 years, were selected and grading of goiter was performed in accordance to the WHO criteria. Urinary samples were obtained from 120 children and urinary iodine was measured using digestion method. Total prevalence of goiter was 7.7% [6.5% in girls and 8.7% in boys]. The median urinary iodine was 17.7microg/dl. 84.7% had urinary iodine of more than 10microg/dl, while 14.3% had urinary iodine levels of <5microg/dl. None of the candidates has urinary iodine of less the 21microg/dl. There was no significant difference between sexes and urban or rural areas. Results have revealed that the total prevalence of goiter has significantly decreased among children in Kohkilouyeh-va-Bouyerahmad province, meanwhile, urinary iodine concentration of children has reached to WHO approved rate. Thus, Kohkilouyeh-va-Bouyerahmad province could be classified among [iodine-deficiency-free] areas in Iran

Trends in nested case- control studies as compared to case- control and cohort designs, 1996- 2005

This investigation was prompted by the growing importance of nested case-control studies and the increasing frequency with which they are done in epidemiologic research. After a brief explanation of nested case-control studies, we evaluate the trends in research methodology over the last decade, especially with regard to cohort, case-control, and nested case-control designs. Data for this study were extracted from the PubMed database, using these keywords: Nested Case-Control, Risk-Set Sampling and Density Sampling. The search was confined to the 10-year period from 1996 to the end of 2005. As for other methodologies, we used keywords Cohort and Case-Control for a search over the same time period. The search itself was performed on April 25, 2006. We found 201 1 articles reporting nested case-control studies. There were 95 such articles in 1996; the number had increased to 289 in 2005. Case-control and cohort designs accounted for 68456 and 60479 articles, respectively. The number of case-control articles rose from 4378 in 1996 to 10270 in 2005, while that of cohort articles increased from 2981 to 9771 over the same period. The number of cohort and nested case-control articles followed similar upward trends over the last decade and their rate of increase was greater than that of simple case-control articles

Life expectancy and longevity in men and women in rural areas in Kohgyloyeh and BoyerAhmad Province in year 1382

Life expectancy at birth and longevity are important indices and represent social, economical, cultural and hygienic status of every society. This index can be used in evaluating any planning. WHO uses this index along with indexes of annual income, per capita income and literacy rate of women to estimate human development index which is one of the most important indices in estimation of todays communities. Estimation of the above index in Kohgiloyeh and Boyer Ahmad province and comparing it with nearby provinces or countries could show future horizon of this province compared to other regions. These data are essential for evaluating the implemented programs, knowing the position of province and future planning. Having the population size and the dead number in different age groups in each year, life expectancy was estimated.Collected and registerd data with an acceptable precision for rural regions were used for estimation of life expectancy in Kohgiloyeh and Boyer Ahmad province and it's townships. Life expectancy for men in rural area of the province was 70.8 years and the highest rate belonged to Kohgiloye and Boyer Ahmad townships, with 72.4 years and the lowest rate belonged to Gachsaran with 69.2 years. Also life expectancy of women in the rural areas of the province was estimated to be 73.8 years and the highest rate belonged to Gachsaran with 75.5 years and the lowest rate belonged to Boyer Ahmad township with 72.9 years. Comparing the results of this study with previous estimates of the region and latest estimates of the life expantacy in the country, a slight increase in life expectancy of the province was noted. This decrease has been more in female than male. Also difference in life expectancy in urban and rural areas is about seven years which calls for immediate attention to the rural regions of the province

Vaccination coverage of children under 1 Year of age in the tribal community of Kohgiloyeh and BoyrAhmad Province [1382]

Vaccination of children under 1 year of age is one of the most important programs of the country at all levels of the health and treatment organizations. Due to geographical dispersion and movement during different seasons of the year, tribal societies are the most vulnerable communities in the field of health services and vaccination. This study aimed at determining the vaccination coverage of children under one year of age in the tribal society of Kohgiloyeh and Boyr Ahmad Province. This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on all the newborns from the tribal society of kohkiloyeh and BoyrAhmad province who were under the age of one, born between 1.1.81 and 29.12.81. For data collection, a questionnaire was used which contained individual characteristics, types of routine vaccines, the data regarding the injections, and the possible reasons for delay in receiving vaccines.The questionnaire was tested for its content-validity. The total coverage of B.C.G vaccine was 97.1%. The total coverage of polio vaccine was 98.4%, 98.2% and 97.7% for the first, second and third doses, respectively, and it was the same for DPT vaccine. The coverage of hepatitis for the first, second, and third doses was 98.6%, 95.2% and 95%, respectively. The total coverage of polio vaccine at birth was 85.5%. AU the vaccines were received with delay. The highest delay was related to first dose [27.6 days] and second dose of hepatitis B [74.3 days], first dose of measles [295.4days] and the least delay was found in polio [10.9 days] and third dose of hepatitis [272.4 days]. The main reasons for delay were distance from vaccination station [27.3%], unavailability of health staff [262%] and the mother's lack of knowledge [14.2%]. Revision of the programs related to the monitoring of mobile teams of vaccination is necessary to improve the vaccination coverage in tribal communities. Moreover, more health staff is required in order to improve the present status of vaccination in tribal societies