Trends in the prevalence and incidence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in Iran: findings from KERCADRS.

OBJECTIVES: Anxiety and depression (A&D) are common mental disorders with high economical and health burdens. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and the incidence rate of A&D symptoms and their relationship with sociodemographic and other risk factors and comorbidities in adults living in southeastern Iran. DESIGN: A population-based cohort study with random cluster household survey sampling method. SETTING: Second round of Kerman Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factors Study (KERCADRS) (2014-2018) performed in Southeastern, Iran. PARTICIPANTS: We recruited 9997 participants (15-80 years) in the second round of the study, from whom 2820 persons were the people who also participated in the first round of KERCADRS in 2009-2012. The age-standardised A&D prevalence was measured among all participants, and the 5-year A&D incidence rate was measured in those who were free from A&D in the first round in 2009-2012 and were at risk of A&D in the follow-up. The relationship between A&D and demographic characteristics, smoking, opium use, obesity and physical activity was assessed by logistic regression models. RESULTS: Overall, the prevalence of anxiety (48.1% to 16.4%, p<0.001) and depression (5.9% to 1.3%, p<0.001) decreased between the two rounds. The highest prevalence of anxiety was among widowed (31.4%), unemployed (21.3%), obese (19.4%), and opium users (17.4%). Young adults, women, those divorced or widowed, and those with obesity and low physical activity had a higher chance of developing anxiety. The 5-year incidence rate (person/1000 person-years) was 15.0 for anxiety and 3.9 for depression. CONCLUSION: Despite the overall decrease in the prevalence of A&D symptoms in last 5 years in the area, young adults, women, unemployed, opium users, people with low physical activity and those with obesity had a higher chance of developing anxiety and are in need of more targeted interventions.

Determination of most suitable cut off point of waist circumference for diagnosis of metabolic syndrome in Kerman.

OBJECTIVES: Metabolic syndrome is a determining indicator of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Abdominal obesity, determined by measuring waist circumference, is one of the most important criteria for diagnosing this syndrome. This criterion varies between men and women and among different races. The present study aims at the assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of the commonly used cut off point of waist circumference, and the estimation of the most suitable cut off point of waist circumference for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome in the urban society of Kerman. METHODS: 5332 subjects consisting of 2966 women and 2366 men, 20 years old and above were studied in a population based, cross sectional study. Waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipids were measured. People with at least two of the NCEP ATP III criteria - high blood pressure (BP>130/80), high triglycerides (TG>150), high glucose (FBG>100) and low HDL (HDL<40 in men and <50 in women) - were taken as population at risk. ROC analysis was used for determining the most suitable cut off point of waist circumference. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was then assessed based on IDF, NCEP criteria and the proposed criterion, and agreement among the three methods in diagnosing people suffering from metabolic syndrome was examined. RESULTS: The average±standard deviation of waist circumference in women and in men was 83.90±12.55 and 87.99±11.94 cm respectively. The most suitable cut off point of waist circumference for metabolic syndrome diagnosis was 86 in women and 89 in men. These circumferences had the highest specificity and sensitivity. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in IDF, NCPE, and the proposed criterion was 30.4%, 27.7%, and 35.2% respectively. The new criterion and the NCEP criterion achieved the highest agreement (kappa factor=83%). CONCLUSION: The cuts off point of waist circumference in men and women are close. It is possible, then, to determine a common cut off point of waist circumference for both in Iran. Therefore, the cut point of 90-cm of waist circumference proposed by the National Obesity Committee seems to be appropriate for the Iranian society. These clinical findings should nevertheless be verified by simulation.