International study of 24-h movement behaviors of the early years (SUNRISE): A pilot study from Iran.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the proportion of Iranian children who met the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines for physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years. Additionally, it investigated the feasibility and acceptability of the methods to be used in the SUNRISE study. METHODS: This pilot study was conducted among 83 children aged 3 and 4 years in preschools and health care centres in Iran, in 2022. Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep (ActiGraph wGT3x-BT); fine and gross motor skills (validated activities); and executive functions (the Early Years Toolbox) were assessed. RESULTS: Only four (4.8%) children met all recommendations of the WHO guidelines. The proportion of children who met MVPA, TPA, screen time, restrained sitting and sleep were 44.6%, 38.6%, 19.3%, 38.6% and 65.1%, respectively. Fifty-two (62.6%) children wore the ActiGraph for at least three full days. A total of 97.6%, 95.1% and 91.5% of children completed anthropometric, EF and motor skill assessments, respectively. CONCLUSION: This pilot study was feasible and acceptable among Iranian children. Regarding the low proportion of children who met the WHO guidelines, it is recommended that long-term and practical strategies be developed to promote healthier lifestyles among preschool children in Iran.

MIRU-VNTR analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from Tehran, Sistan-Baluchestan, Kermanshah and Hormozgan during 2014 and 2015.

Standard 15-locus Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Unit Variable Number Tandem Repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a valuable instrumentation for TB control. Our knowledge about the genetic diversity of MTB and population structure of MTB circulating in Iran is limited. During 2014-2015, 98 MTB isolates were collected from the TB centers of four provinces of Iran. Isolates were genetically characterized using 15-locus based MIRU-VNTR typing. Ninety-five distinct mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit MIRU-VNTR patterns were found among 98 isolates. 5 (5.1%) isolates grouped into 2 clusters and 93 (94.89%) isolates had a unique pattern. The HGDI was as high as 0.99 and 10 of loci were designated as highly discriminative. Clusters belonged to Tehran only. This indicates these patterns are rotating in Tehran. Unique patterns suggest that distribution of samples in each province and population differs. HGDI is higher than previous studies for MIRU-VNTR typing in Iran. We suggest MIRU-15 because it is a valid epidemiological background for clustering defined. Limited data is available on the genetic diversity and transmission dynamics of MTB in Iran. To examine the genetic diversity and transmission dynamics of MTB strains we genotyped a collection of isolates from four different parts of Iran. The method of 15-loci MIRU-VNTR demonstrated high discriminatory power and may be applied as a first-line genotyping instrumentation in investigating the molecular epidemiology of M. tuberculosis in Iran.