Anemia as a public health issue in Mashhad, Iran: evidence from the first population-based study.

Anemia is one of the main conditions that impose an adverse impact on the socioeconomic state of any country; however, evidence on the prevalence of anemia is scant in Northeastern Iran. This study was conducted to determine the overall and age- and sex-specific prevalence of anemia in the city of Mashhad, Iran. In a cross-sectional, population-based survey, 1675 individuals aged 1-90 years (29.1±18.5 years) were selected from approximately 2.4 million residents by a multistage cluster sampling method during May to September 2009. Blood samples were evaluated to determine erythrocyte indices and anemia was defined according to hemoglobin (Hb) levels based on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The prevalence of anemia was 9.7% with considerable difference between both sexes; 6.2% and 12.7% in males and females, respectively (P<0.001). The higher prevalence of anemia was detected in females of 15-54 and ≥ 65 years old (16% and 12.5%, respectively). However, the higher rates were observed in males 65 years and older as well as boys below 5 years old (16.3% and 14.6%, respectively). Current findings show that anemia is a considerable public health problem in the population of Mashhad, Iran, especially among the pre-school children, adult women and the elderly. Great attention should be paid to the pre-school boys who are more affected by anemia than what was previously assumed.

High prevalence of HTLV-I infection in Mashhad, Northeast Iran: a population-based seroepidemiology survey.

BACKGROUND: Mashhad, in the northeast of Iran has been suggested as an endemic area for human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection since 1996. OBJECTIVES: We performed a community-based seroepidemiology study to examine the prevalence and risk factors for HTLV-I infection in the city of Mashhad. STUDY DESIGN: Between May and September 2009, overall 1678 subjects from all the 12 geographical area of Mashhad were selected randomly by multistage cluster sampling for HTLV antibody. The study population included 763 males and 915 females, with the mean age of 29.1 ± 18.5 years. 1654 serum samples were assessed for HTLV antibody using ELISA and reactive samples were confirmed by Western blot and PCR. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of HTLV-I infection in whole population was 2.12% (95% CI, 1.48-2.93) with no significant difference between males and females (p = 0.093) and the prevalence of HTLV-II seropositivity was 0.12% (95% CI, 0.02-0.44). The HTLV-I Infection was associated with age (p<0.001), marital status (p<0.001), education (p = 0.047), and history of blood transfusion (p = 0.009), surgery (p<0.001), traditional cupping (p = 0.002), and hospitalization (p = 0.004). In logistic regression analysis, age was the only variable that had a significant relation with the infection (p = 0.006, OR = 4.33). CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that Mashhad still remains an endemic area for HTLV-I infection despite routine blood screening. Thus, further strategies are needed for prevention of the virus transmission in whole population.