Prevalence of Smoking among the Students resided at Dormitories in Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

Introduction: Cigarette smoking leads to harmful physical and emotional problems and also is a predisposed factor for the addiction. The aim of this study was an attempt to determine the rate of prevalence and causes of smoking among the students of Golestan University of Medical Sciences who resided in the dormitories. Material & Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study conducted among the resident students of dormitories in 2010. The sample size consisted of all the university dormitory students. The data gathered using a validated and reliable questionnaire. The data analyzed using SPSS software and statistical tests including Chi-square, Logistic regression and Independent t-test. Results: Of 669 students, 538 (80%) of them filled out the questionnaires completely. 67.3% (362 subjects) were female. 6.1% (33 students) were smoker and 83.5% of them had experiences of cigarette smoking. The most important reasons for the smoking tendency were “having a smoker friend in 33%, a personal interest 27% and as hobby in 24% of the cases”. There were significant relation between “age, sex, region and year of education” with smoking (P<0.05). However, we couldn’t find any significant relation between major and marital status with cigarette smoking (P>0.05). Conclusion: The results indicated low prevalence of cigarette smoking among the students. However, preventive measures should be taken to conduit youth toward healthier behaviors. It seems parental control and monitoring children’s friend finding are crucial issue

Change in Bone Mineral Density in Post Menopausal Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Introduction: Low bone mass is a serious complication of post menopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis. We determined the Change in Bone Mineral Density in postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was carried out on consecutive postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis who were referred to the Azar 5th teaching hospital affiliated to Golestan University of Medical Sciences, North of Iran in 2009. The required data were gathered from the patients’ medical records. The data were analyzed using SPSS software and statistical tests. Results: We studied 98 postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis. Mean number of years since menopause and mean duration of disease were 9.39 and 5.13 respectively. T Score mean in femoral neck and lumbar spines was -1.45±1.26 and -2.45±1.44 respectively. The overall prevalence of osteoporosis at both the lumbar spine and femoral neck was 13.3. We have found a significant correlation between age, duration of disease, duration of menopause and bone mineral density (P-Value<0.01). Conlusion: Our results indicate a negative effect of age, number of years since menopause and duration of disease on bone mineral density. So, BMD should be measured in high risk women prior to the implementation of any treatment or prevention program.