The association between abdominal obesity and serum cholesterol level.

BACKGROUND: The main aim of this study is to evaluate the association between serum cholesterol level and abdominal obesity in adult men and women in the north of Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional and analytical study was conducted on the 1956 subjects (990 men and 966 women) between 25 and 65 years old chosen by cluster sampling. Plasma cholesterol was measured in the morning after a 12 h fast and determined by auto-analyzer. Hypercholesterolemia (HC) was defined by a total plasma cholesterol level over 200 mg/dl. Waist circumference ≥102 cm and ≥88 cm in men and women were defined as abdominal obesity. SPSS 16.0 software was used for statistical analysis and P < 0.05 considered as statistical significance. RESULTS: Averagely, the mean of age was 44.2 years and mean ± standard deviation of plasma total cholesterol level was 203 ± 11.3 mg/dl. The HC was seen in 50.8% of subjects with a more common in women than in men. Compared with normal subjects, in abdominal obese people, the odds ratio (OR) of HC was (OR = 4.208 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.939-9.130]) and (OR = 3.956 [95% CI: 1.821-8.592]) in men aged 25-35 and 35-45 years, respectively. In women aged 25-35 years, it was (OR = 3.444 [95% CI: 1.959-6.056]) in abdominal obese compared with normal subjects. CONCLUSION: Hypercholesterolemia was revealed as a major health problem among adults, and it was associated with abdominal obesity especially in the early middle-age in the north of Iran. This association was not significant in men and women after the age of 45 and 35, respectively.

Five-year trend in hydrogenated vegetable oil consumption among northern Iranian families.

BACKGROUND: The main aim of this study was to assess the trends in hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) consumption and some related factors among northern Iranian families from 2006 to 2010. METHODS: A cross-sectional, population-based study was conducted with 6497 subjects, 15 to 65 years old, who were chosen by multistage cluster random sampling. The subjects were randomly chosen by 325 clusters with an equal size (n = 20 subjects). A multidimensional questionnaire including sociodemographic questions and type of cooking oil used were administered by interviewers. RESULTS: The percentages of the sample reporting HVO consumption across the 5 years are as follows: 2006, 85.2%; 2007, 79.7%; 2008, 75.9%; 2009, 59.3%; and 2010, 55.7%. Consumption decreased 29.5% during the 5 years of study and an average of 5.9% per year (P < .05). The estimated odds ratio of HVO consumption in rural areas verus urban areas was 2.59 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.31-2.90); for poor compared with good economic level the odds ratio was 3.99 (95% CI, 3.13-5.10 for; for the uneducated versus college-educated sample it was 5.75 (95% CI, 4.10-8.17); and the odds ratio was 3.34(95% CI, 2.51-4.45) for Sisstani compared with Fars-native ethnic group. CONCLUSION: HVO consumption decreased during the 5-year study (2006 to 2010), but HVO is still used extensively in northern Iran. Preventive early intervention strategies are needed to target uneducated and poor families, with an emphasis on the Sisstanish ethnic group, to increase awareness about the negative consequences of HVO consumption.

Impact of literacy on the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in adults in Golestan Province (northern Iran).

UNLABELLED: Background : Hypertension is considered as a major health problem in our society. The association between educational level with hypertension and its control in the Golestan Province (northern Iran) were the main objectives of this study. METHODS: This was a population-based cross-sectional study that enrolled 3497 subjects aged 15-65 years using stratified and cluster sampling. The interviewers recorded the data using a multidimensional questionnaire, including blood pressure level. Blood pressure was measured three times with 5 minutes interval and defined based on Join National Committee (JNC-7). RESULTS: Totally, 741 (21.2 %) cases suffered from hypertension and illiterate people were significantly more aware of their disease (p=0.011). In the aware group, 435 (89.6%) cases used one method to control their disease and it was not statistically significant as far as educational levels was concerned. The control of hypertension was significantly greater in college educated group than the illiterate one (32.4% vs 68.8%) (p=0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that illiteracy is a risk factor for hypertension (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: In spite of awareness in the illiterate people was high, the rate of hypertension control was low in this group. Prevention, detection, treatment, and control of hypertension especially the illiterate people should be given high priority.

Influence of education in the prevalence of obesity in Iranian northern adults.

BACKGROUND: The main aim of this study was to evaluate whether prevalence of obesity in educational levels is different and some related factors in Iranian northern adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study based on population and 2452 cases (1224 men and 1228 women) aged 15-65 years were chosen by cluster and stratify sampling. Subjects were randomly chosen from 125 clusters and each cluster included 20 cases. Interviewers recorded the data using a multidimensional questionnaire including socio-demographic indexes. RESULTS: As a whole, the prevalence of obesity was seen in 24% of subjects (15.5% in male and 32.5% in female) and significantly was seen in 3.1% and 14.1% of uneducated people more than in 1-9 year schooling and in high school or college-educated people, respectively (P = 0.001). The risk of obesity was 2.294 (P = 0.001) in uneducated compared to high school or college-educated people, 1.668 (P = 0.001) in urban area compared to rural area, 2.619 (P = 0.001) in 40-65 year people compared to 15-40 year people, and 1.534 (P = 0.003) in good economic compared to poor economic groups. After adjusted for location area, gender, age, and economic stats, the risk of obesity was 2.044 (P = 0.001) in uneducated people compared to high school or college-educated subjects. CONCLUSION: The obesity as a health problem in Iranian northern adults supported in this study and it was negatively associated with educational levels. Public health programs that aim to reduce obesity should primarily focus on the illiterate and low-educated people.

The correlation between educational levels and central obesity in the north of Iran: An epidemiologic study.

BACKGROUND: The main aim of this study was to evaluate the association between educational levels and central obesity in northern Iran in 2010. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study carried out on 2428 subjects (1227 men and 1201 women) of 15-65 years of age who were chosen by cluster and stratified sampling methods. Subjects were randomly selected from 125 clusters and each cluster included 20 cases. Interviewers recorded the data using a multidimensional questionnaire comprising socio-demographic indexes. RESULTS: Central obesity was seen in 34.8% of all subjects (15.9% male and 56.7% female) and in 15% of uneducated people. In the uneducated group, it was 20.0% and 31.1% higher than in the 1-9 years of schooling and high school or college educated groups, respectively (P = 0.001). The risk of central obesity increased in uneducated people (OR = 4.214, P = 0.001) and in people with 1-9 years of schooling (OR = 2.283, P = 0.001) compared with high school or college educated people. The risk of central obesity was higher in urban areas than in rural area (OR = 1.481, P = 0.001), in women than men (OR = 7.039, P = 0.001), in 40-65 year olds than 15-40 year olds (OR = 3.090, P = 0.001), and in the wealthy economic group than poor economic group (OR = 1.360, P = 0.013). The risk of central obesity increased in urban areas (OR = 2.266, P = 0.001) and the wealthy economic group (OR = 1.732, P = 0.001) after it was adjusted for education. CONCLUSION: Central obesity as a health problem in northern Iran has been supported in this study, and it had an inverse correlation with educational levels. Public health programs that aim to reduce central obesity should mainly focus on the illiterate and low educated people.

Differences in the Prevalence of Obesity among Fars-Native, Turkman, and Sisstanish Ethnic Groups in Iranian Northern Adults in 2010.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences of obesity rate among three ethnic groups in northern adults in IR Iran in 2010. METHODS: The present cross-sectional, analytical study was conducted on 2994 cases of the same age and sex in three ethnic proportions (Fars-native=1625, Turkman=977, and Sisstani=392). The subjects aged between 15 and 65 years old and were selected by multistage cluster sampling techniques including 150 clusters each containing 20 subjects in urban and rural areas in 11 districts in Golestan province (northern IR Iran). Obesity was defined after WHO classification by BMI (Body Mass Index) equal or over 30 kg/m(2). SPSS 16.0 software was used for statistical analysis and P value<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: Mean±SD of BMI in Fars-native, Turkman, and Sisstanish ethnic groups was 26.72±5.56, 26.18±5.34, and 24.59±6.72 kg/m(2), respectively. Averagely, obesity was common in 22.8% of the subjects and was significantly higher among the females compared to males (32.3% vs13.3%) (P=0.001). Also, its prevalence was estimated as 25%, 22.6%, and 14% in Fars-native, Turkman, and Sisstanish ethnic groups, respectively. Statistical differences were significant among the three ethnic groups (P=0.001). The risk of obesity was 2.041 [95% CI, 1.502-2.722] in Fars-native and 1.781 [95% CI, 1.298-2.472] in Turkman groups compared to Sisstanish ethnic group. CONCLUSIONS: Over one out of five adults in northern IR Iran suffer from obesity and an alarming rate was shown among the women. Among the three ethnic groups, the highest and the lowest rates were seen in Fars-native and Sisstanish ethnic groups, respectively.

Impact of Literacy on the Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment andControl of Hypertension in Iran.

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension is an important global health concern claiming 7.1 million lives annually. Literacy, as an essential element of the health education, and its relationship with health has previously been studied. However, few studies have been conducted on the association between literacy and health outcomes. To assess the association between educational level and hypertension, awareness and hypertension control in the north of Iran were the main objectives of this study. METHODS: The present study was a population-based cross-sectional study carried out on 3497 subjects aged 15-65 years using stratified and cluster sampling. Interviewers recorded the data using a multidimensional questionnaire, including blood pressure level. Blood pressure was measured three times with 5-minute intervals and defined based on JNC-7. RESULTS: Totally, 21.2 %(741 cases) of our patients suffered from hypertension and illiterate people were significantly more aware of their disease (P=0.011). Among the aware group, at least 89.6% (435 cases) used one method to control their disease; this however was not statistically significant among the educational levels. Control of hypertension was significantly greater in college educated group than in illiterate group (32.4% vs. 68.8%; P=0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that illiteracy is a risk factor for hypertension (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: In spite of the fact that awareness in illiterate people was high, the rate of hypertension control was low in this group. Prevention, detection, treatment, and control of hypertension especially in illiterate people should receive high priority.