Occupational categories and cardiovascular diseases incidences: a cohort study in Iranian population.

INTRODUCTION: In spite of traditional cardiovascular risk factor, the different occupations can play an important role in cardiovascular disease (CVDs) incidence. We aimed to assess the correlation between the occupational classes, based on the International Standard Classification of Occupation (ISCO), and CVDs in Iran as a developing country. METHODS: We followed the 2440 men, aged 35-65 years and without history of CVDs over fourteen years; 2001 to 2015 during the Isfahan Cohort Study. ISCO was used to classify occupations into 10 categories. Incidence rates of ischemic heart diseases and stroke were recorded. Socioeconomic demographic data including marital state, income and place of living and metabolic risk factors were also recorded. RESULTS: The mean age was 46.97 ± 8.31 years old. 272 cardiovascular events (CVEs) were recorded that unstable angina was the highest recorded with 49% prevalence and the fatal stroke had the lowest outbreak (1%). The unemployed/jobless group and elementary occupations (9th ISCO category) had higher and lower relative frequency in CVEs respectively. There was non-significant decrease in CVEs in all of categories except of 4th (clerical support workers) and 10th (armed forces) groups in comparison to unemployed/jobless subjects (P > 0.05). After considering of the group 7 as a reference group (most absolute CVEs frequency), in fully adjustment analysis group 4 had significant risk for CVEs (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that working as clerical support workers (4th ISCO category) is associated with higher significant risk for IHD and stroke incidence in comparison to craft and related trades workers (7th group of ISCO).

Reproductive factors and risk of total knee replacement due to severe knee osteoarthritis in women, the Singapore Chinese Health Study.

OBJECTIVES: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is more common in women, and may be related to reproductive or hormonal factors. We evaluated these factors with the risk of total knee replacement (TKR) for severe knee OA among women. METHODS: The Singapore Chinese Health Study recruited 63,257 Chinese aged 45-74 years from 1993 to 1998, and among them, 35,298 were women. Information on height, weight, lifestyle factors, number of biological children, ages at menarche and menopause, and use of hormonal therapies was collected through interviews. Incident cases of TKR were identified via linkage with nationwide database. RESULTS: There were 1,645 women with TKR after mean follow-up of 14.8 years. Higher parity was associated with increased TKR risk in a stepwise manner (P for trend <0.001). Compared to nulliparous women, those with ≥5 children had the highest risk [hazard ratio (HR) 2.01, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) 1.50-2.70]. The effect of parity on TKR risk was significantly stronger among lean women compared to heavier women; HRs (95% CIs) for highest parity was 4.86 (2.22-10.63) for women with body mass index (BMI) <23 kg/m2 and 1.57 (1.14-2.14) for those ≥23 kg/m2 (P for interaction = 0.001). Earlier age at menarche and use of oral contraceptives were significantly associated with TKR in a stepwise manner (P for trend ≤0.002). Age at menopause and use of hormonal therapy were not associated with TKR risk. CONCLUSION: Higher parity, earlier age of menarche and use of oral contraceptives were associated with increased risk of TKR for severe knee OA among women.

Longitudinal association of metabolic syndrome and dietary patterns: A 13-year prospective population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Diet is a potential factor contributing to the development of the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). This longitudinal study with repeated measurements of dietary intake was thus conducted to examine the longitudinal association between major dietary patterns and risk of MetS. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study was conducted within the framework of the Isfahan Cohort Study (ICS), in which 1387 participants were followed from 2001 to 2013. Validated food frequency questionnaire, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, fasting serum lipids and blood sugars were evaluated in three phases of the study. Mixed effect Logistic and Cumulative Logit regressions were applied to evaluate the longitudinal associations between dietary patterns change and MetS and number of MetS components. Three dietary patterns were identified: Healthy, Iranian and Western dietary patterns. After adjustment for potential confounders, the higher scores of Healthy diet were inversely associated with the risk of MetS and number of MetS components (OR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.36-0.70, OR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.39-0.70, respectively). The greater adherence to the Iranian diet was positively associated with the risk of MetS and number of MetS components (OR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.01-1.65, OR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.16-1.81, respectively). The Western dietary pattern did not show any significant associations. CONCLUSION: Adherence to a Healthy diet was associated with lower risk of MetS even in a developing country setting. However, the Iranian diet was positively associated with the risk of MetS. These results may guide the development of improved preventive nutrition interventions in this adult population.

Dietary patterns and mortality from cardiovascular disease: Isfahan Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Evidence about the relation between dietary patterns and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is scarce in Middle Eastern countries. This study was performed to examine the association between major dietary patterns and CVD mortality in Iranian adults. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This population-based prospective cohort study was conducted among 4834 randomly selected participants aged ⩾35 years from urban and rural areas of central Iran (2001-2009) (the Isfahan Cohort Study). Dietary intakes were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire, and major dietary patterns were identified by means of exploratory factor analysis. Subjects or their next of kin were interviewed biannually looking for possible occurrence of events. Cardiovascular mortality was defined as fatal myocardial infarction, fatal stroke and sudden cardiac death. RESULTS: During the median follow-up of 9.0 years and 50 282 person-years, we found a total of 118 CVD mortalities. Four major dietary patterns were identified: 'Western', 'Mediterranean', 'Animal fat' and 'Fast food'. Adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern was protectively associated with CVD mortality, such that those in the highest quartile were 46% (hazard ratio (HR): 0.54; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.32-0.91; P-value for trend=0.03) less likely to have incident CVD mortality than those in the lowest quartile. Further adjustment for potential confounders strengthened this association (HR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.19-0.96; P-value for trend=0.02). We found no significant association between adherence to the Western, animal fat and fast food dietary patterns and CVD mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern was associated with reduced risk for cardiovascular mortality even in a developing country setting.

Anthropometric indices predicting incident type 2 diabetes in an Iranian population: the Isfahan Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: The link between adiposity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) is well known. However, it remains controversial as to which index and cutoff point is the best predictor in different populations. METHODS: A total of 2981 urban and rural Iranian adults over 35 years of age, and free of cardiovascular disease and diabetes were followed for 7 years. Anthropometric indices included body mass index (BMI), body adiposity index [BAI=(hip circumference/height¹·5)-18], waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR), and waist and hip circumferences. T2D was defined as fasting plasma glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL or 2-h post-prandial plasma glucose ≥ 200 mg/dL, or the use of antidiabetic agents. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis determined the best cutoff point for each adiposity index. RESULTS: After 7 years of follow-up, 389 new cases of diabetes were found. Most indices were linearly associated with increased risk of diabetes but the best continuous predictor was WHtR in men [odds ratio: 1.10 (95% confidence interval: 1.07-1.12) for one unit] and BMI in women [1.08 (1.04-1.11) for 0.1 kg/m²]. BMI cutoffs of 26 kg/m² in men and 30 kg/m² in women were the best binary predictors in adjusted models, and showed increased T2D risks of 2.91 (2.06-4.12) and 1.94 (1.42-2.66) times, respectively. All central-obesity indices in men and WHpR in women were also significantly associated with T2D independent of BMI. BAI was significantly associated with T2D in men but not in women. CONCLUSION: BMI at the appropriate cutoffs in both genders and WHtR in men and BMI in women as continuous factors were the best predictors of incident T2D in this Iranian population.

Impact of metabolic syndrome on ischemic heart disease - a prospective cohort study in an Iranian adult population: Isfahan Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: The impact of the metabolic syndrome among populations in the Middle East region is unknown; we therefore examined the association between the syndrome and the risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in an Iranian population. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Isfahan Cohort Study (ICS) prospectively followed 6146 Iranian people (51.8% women, aged 35-75 years) from three cities and their rural districts who were initially free of ischemic heart disease. During the 5 year follow-up, 209 (56% men) cases of ischemic heart disease were detected. The metabolic syndrome was defined by the modified criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP/ATPIII). End points were defined as fatal and nonfatal myocardial infarction, sudden cardiac death and unstable angina. A clear dose-response relationship was found between the number of metabolic risk factors and the incidence of IHD, with the hazard ratios increasing dose-dependently from 1.72 (95% CI 0.86-3.46) for only one to 1.97 (1.00-3.90), 2.85 (1.45-5.58) and 4.44 (2.25-8.76) for 2, 3 and ≥4 metabolic syndrome component respectively, relative to those with no component. The adjusted hazard ratio (95% CI) associated with the metabolic syndrome was 1.58 (1.06-2.35) in men and 1.72 (1.08-2.74) in women for IHD. The contribution of metabolic syndrome to the IHD risk was particularly strong among smokers although there was no significant interaction. CONCLUSIONS: The metabolic syndrome by NCEP/ATPIII definition is a major determinant of ischemic heart disease in this middle-aged Iranian population, especially among smokers.

The Isfahan cohort study: rationale, methods and main findings.

A 10-year longitudinal population-based study, entitled the Isfahan Cohort Study (ICS) is being conducted. The ICS commenced in 2001, recruiting individuals aged 35+ living in urban and rural areas of three counties in central Iran, to determine the individual and combined impact of various risk factors on the incidence of cardiovascular events. After 24379 person-years of follow-up with a median follow-up of 4.8 years, we documented 219 incident cases of ischemic heart disease (IHD) (125 in men and 94 in women) and 57 incident cases of stroke (28 in men and 29 in women). The absolute risk of IHD was 8.9 (7.8-10.2) per 1000 person-years for all participants, 10.6 (8.8-12.5) per 1000 person-years for men and 7.4 (6.0-9.0) per 1000 person-years for women. The respective risk of ischemic stroke was 2.3 (1.7-3.0), 2.3 (1.6-3.3) and 2.3 (1.5-3.2) per 1000 person-years. The risk of IHD was approximately 3.5-fold higher in the presence of hypertension, followed by diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia with near 2.5- and twofold higher risk, respectively. This cohort provides confirmatory evidence of the ethnic differences in the magnitude of the impact of various risk factors on cardiovascular events. The differences may be due to varying absolute risk levels among populations and the existing ethnic disparities for using western risk equations to local requirements.

Topiramate add-on treatment in schizophrenia: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Glutamate antagonists such as topiramate have been proposed based on the glutamate hypothesis of schizophrenia because its properties encourage its exploration and possible development as a medication for the treatment of schizophrenia. A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed on 18- to 45-year-old patients with schizophrenia. Baseline information including vital signs, height, weight, smoking status, demographic characteristics, (past) psychiatric history, medication history and medication-related adverse effects were collected. Patients were randomly assigned to a topiramate or placebo group. Efficacy of medication was measured by administering Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and tolerability of treatment was recorded on day 0 (baseline), day 28 and day 56. PANSS values (95% confidence interval) at baseline, day 28 and day 56 in the topiramate group were 96.87 (85.37-108.37), 85.68 (74.67-96.70) and 76.87 (66.06-87.69), respectively; compared with 101.87 (90.37-113.37), 100.31 (89.29-111.32) and 100.56 (89.74-111.37) in the placebo group. General linear model for repeated measures analysis showed that topiramate has lowered PANSS values significantly compared with the placebo group. Similar significant decline patterns were found in all three subscales (negative, positive and psychopathology sign). Clinical response (more than 20% reduction in PANSS) was significantly higher in topiramate-treated subjects than controls (50% vs 12.5%). Topiramate can be an effective medication in controlling schizophrenic symptoms, considering its effect on negative symptoms and controlling antipsychotic-associated weight gain.

Population-based platelet reference values for an Iranian population.

There are a few reports regarding the reference range for platelet indices in the populations of Iran and its neighbouring countries, but these studies were of small sample size. This study aimed at defining platelet reference values for medical research and practice. A cross-sectional survey was performed on 19,993 young adult Iranians who participated in a compulsory pre-marriage screening programme over a 6-month period. Platelet indices were measured using an automated Technicon H2 cell counter. The platelet count [given as 95% reference interval (2.5 percentile-97.5 percentile) and mean +/- standard deviation] were 145-356 x 10(9)/l (237 +/- 55.2); the platelet distribution width was 40.2-57.4% (46.9 +/- 5.7) the Plateletocrit was, 0.13-0.32% (0.22 +/- 0.05) and the mean platelet volume was 7.4-10.7 fl (9.2 +/- 2.9). The first three indices showed significant differences between males and females. The reference values of platelet indices in Iranians were found to be different from international data; they were a little lower than those in Caucasians but higher than the indices found for Africans.