S Bayat, H Soori, Fs Asgarian,
Volume 17, Issue 3 (12-2021)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Healthcare providers suffer from occupational burnout due to emotional and physical pressures dealing with patients, which affects all aspects of living behavior. This study aimed to identify the association between occupational burnout and driving behavior among the employees of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive- analytical study was conducted on 1629 employees of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences that were selected using random sampling. The employees completed a demographic questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Manchester Driver Behavior Questionnaire. The data were assessed based on a Likert scale.
Results: The results of occupational burnout analysis showed that the mean scores of emotional exhaustion (72.2-22.2-5.6%), cynicism (0.6-42.8-51.6) and professional inefficacy (31.8-21.8-46.4%) were mild, moderate and severe, respectively. The results also showed a significant relationship between depersonalization disorder and unintentional driving violations (P=0.026), driving-related errors and self-adequacy (p=0.023), and occupational burnout and driving behavior and the variables of gender, shift work, working hours, and educational groups. In general, occupational burnout was higher in women than in men (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Educational programs can improve low - risk driving ability among this group of employees. Psychological and counseling services should be reinforced in organizations so that the employees attain the ability to adapt to occupational psychological pressures to reduce occupational burnout in the long term.
N Rajabi, R Fadaei, A Khazeni, J Ramezanpour, S Nasiri Esfahani, Gh Yadegarfar,
Volume 17, Issue 3 (12-2021)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Due to the importance of cutaneous leishmaniasis, the national leishmaniasis project began in 2007 in Iran. The aim of the present study was to evaluate community interventions in changes in the incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Isfahan Province from 2002 to 2018: an Interrupted time series regression analysis.
Materials and Methods: The present study was a repeated cross-sectional study. The incidence and 95% confidence interval were used to describe the disease trend. Data were entered into the Excel and analyzed using STATA14 software at a significance level of 5%. Intermittent time series regression analysis was used to evaluate community interventions in changes of leishmaniasis incidence.
Results: from 2002 to 2018, the data of 43,904 patients with leishmaniasis was registered in Isfahan Health Centers. The mean (standard deviation) age of the patients was 23.99 (19.03) years. The incidence had a decreasing trend after the interventions in all affiliated cities and the whole province.
Conclusion: The preventive intervention programs of the provincial health center have been rather successful and have reduced the incidence of the disease in the years after the intervention, so that despite the large number of confounding and influential factors regarding this disease, preventive intervention programs have led to disease control according to the reported annual incidence.
P Maroofi, , Z Cheraghi, L Tapak,
Volume 17, Issue 4 (3-2022)
Abstract
Introduction: Identifying the epidemiological features of reported measles outbreaks including the size, period, and generation of the outbreaks plays a significant role in preventing new outbreaks and estimating effective reproduction number (R) as an indication of measles elimination. This study was conducted to describe the reported measles outbreaks in the world in 2018.
Method: The PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Sciences databases were searched using related keywords to retrieve articles that reported 2018 measles outbreaks. From the full-texts of the articles that met the inclusion criteria, the data including gender, season, age group, country, genotype, and vaccination status as well as shape, size, period of outbreaks and number of generations of each outbreak were extracted and reported using the relevant epidemiological curves.
Results: The search results led to the retrieval of 2806 articles. After screening, 16 studies were used for final analysis. Most outbreaks were reported in the winter (56.25%) with genotypes B3 and D8. The sex female (38.64%, 308 cases) was mostly in Asia and Europe. On average, the minimum and maximum number of outbreaks size was 1 and 23, which spread to 3-4 generations. In terms of death, only one case of death was reported in Ethiopia.
Conclusion: The results of this study are useful for identifying measles outbreaks in other countries according to the at-risk groups. However, publication bias and non-reporting of all outbreaks should be considered as limitations in the generalization of the results.
F Rashidi Fakari, Fa Rahnemaei, Z Kiani, F Rashidi Fakari, M Ghazanfarpour, N Kariman,
Volume 17, Issue 4 (3-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: In most parts of the world, pelvic girdle and lower back pain are one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders, but its prevalence has been reported differently in studies around the world. were performed to investigate the-analysis Therefore, the present meta prevalence of pelvic girdle and lower back pain in pregnant women.
Methods: all articles published from 2005 to May 2020 using the keywords Pelvic Girdle Pain, Low back pain, Cross-Sectional, Prevalence, Epidemiology, Survey in Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection,Science Direct and SID collected and reviewed. Munn et al. tools were used to evaluate the quality of studies and methodology.
Results: 26 studies with a sample size of 13430 showed that, the overall prevalence of pelvic girdle and low back pain in pregnant women is 50% (95% CI: 43-58%, I2: 98.9%) and in primigravida women 44% (95% CI: 35-54%, I2: 97.9). Also, the prevalence of pelvic girdle and low back pain was using the questionnaire 57% (95% CI: 47-68, I2: 99.04%), using a combination of methods 53% (95% confidence interval: 37-70, I2: 96.12%), using a VAS Scale 38%(95% confidence interval: 23-52, I2: 99.08%).
Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate a 50% prevalence of pelvic girdle and low back pain in pregnant women. Due to the high prevalence and effects of pain on the quality of life of pregnant women, it seems necessary to plan, policy and design effective interventions in this field by the treatment team.
L Shams, Gh , T Nasiri, M Meskarpour Amiri,
Volume 17, Issue 4 (3-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status and non-communicable diseases (NCD) risk factors in one of the northern counties of Iran.
Methods: A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in Langrud County in 2019. In this study, 906 rural and urban households were surveyed using mixed sampling. The data collection tool was the standard questionnaire of "NCD disease care system". Households’ exposure to NCD behavioral risk factors (including unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle and smoking) in different socio-economic groups was examined and compared with logistic regression models using the STATA software.
Results: The probability of smoking in illiterate subjects and those with unfinished high school education and high school diploma was 5.1, 7.5 and 4.2 times higher than those with university education (OR = 5.1,7.5,4.2; P <0.05). The probability of unhealthy diets in the first and second quartiles of income (very low and low income) was 3.4 and 2.6 times higher compared to the people in the fourth quartile of income (high income) (P <0.05; OR = 3.4, 2.6).
Conclusion: The micro-level socioeconomic inequalities (within the county) have a significant relationship with households’ exposure to NCD risk factors. Reducing socio-economic inequalities at the micro level should be considered as an appropriate tool to reduce health inequality at the macro level.
M Bagbanian, M Momayyezi, H Fallahzadeh, M Mirzaei,
Volume 17, Issue 4 (3-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Drug use not only affects a person's physical and mental health, but also affects the health of others in the community. Various variables, including demographic and social factors, affect drug use. The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of drug use and related factors in the participants of Shahedieh Cohort Study.
Methods: A descriptive study was performed using the first phase of Shahedieh cohort study on 10194 adult residents of Shahdieh, Zarch, and Ashkezar in 2015-2016. The aim of the cohort study was to assess the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and their risk factors in adults aged 35-70 years. Data were analyzed with the SPSS 20 using chi-square and logistic regression.
Results: The prevalence of illicit drug use in the present study was 15.5% with a mean age of onset of 31.5 ± 9.2 years. The most common drug was opium (98.2%). The most common method of drug use was inhalation (98.1%). The logistic regression showed that male gender (P< 0.001), age 40 to 49 years (P<0.001), low education (below high school diploma) (P<0.001), positive history of smoking (P<0.001) and alcohol consumption (P<0.001) were the most important factors associated with drug use. In addition, a positive history of ischemic heart disease (P=0.007) and psychiatric disorders (P=0.02) were the diseases related to drug use.
Conclusion: The prevalence of drug use was high in the study population. There is an urgent need for intervention and preventive measures to solve this complex social problem.
A Naghi Pour, A Moghimbeigi, N Shirmohamadi, A Soltanian, S Khazaei, Sh Nick Ceiar,
Volume 17, Issue 4 (3-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Breast cancer has the highest incidence in the Iranian women.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. All female with breast cancer during 2008-2015 were enrolled. Breast cancer registration is based on the pathology method in Iran. The information about female with breast cancer was collected from their files in the cancer registry department of Hamadan Health Center. The samples were divided into four groups according to age (<50 and> 50) and location (city, village). GeoBUGS was used to generate a map of high-risk areas in Hamedan Province based on the adjusted relative risk estimate (RR*) in OpenBUGS v 3.2.3 software.
Results: This study included 1316 females with breast cancer. The mean age of the patients was 50.38±12.98 years. The results of the study showed that high-risk areas of breast cancer for were Assadabad urban females aged over 50 years (RR*(i)=1.32, CI= 0.99,1.79) and Tuyserkan (RR*(i)=1.09, CI= 1.08,1.38) and Razan (RR*(i)=1.09, CI= 0.85,1.40) for females below 50 years. In addition, Razan for rural females over 50 years old (RR*(i)=1.18, CI=0.82,1.73) and Malayer for females below 50 years old (RR*(i)=1.08, CI= 0.81,1.45) were high risk areas for breast cancer in Hamadan Province.
Conclusion: The distribution of breast cancer is different at different ages and in the cities of Hamadan Province. Asadabad, Tuyserkan, Razan and Malayer were high risk areas for breast cancer in Hamadan Province.
M Salehi, Z Saberi, F Karimi, F Abbasi,
Volume 17, Issue 4 (3-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Epidemiological studies have indicated the prevalence of a wide spectrum of diffused pigment lesions throughout the world and Iran. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency distribution of oral diffused pigment lesions in patients presenting to Oral Diseases Department of Isfahan Dental School.
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 303 patients presenting to Oral Diseases Department of Isfahan Dental School during the first three-month period of 2019. The demographic data, location of lesions, and type of lesions were recorded in a checklist and analyzed with the SPSS version 22 using Chi square, Mann Whitney test, Fisher's exact test, and spearman correlation coefficient. The level of significance was set at 5%.
Results: In this study, 303 patients were examined of whom 93 (30.69%) were diagnosed with diffused pigment lesions. As for the pigmentation severity, the patients were grouped into low, moderate, and high with 54 persons (58%), 13 persons (14%) and 26 persons (28%) in each group, respectively. The most frequent site was labial gingiva and the most common type was the physiologic type. The results showed that gender had no effect on the frequency distribution (P=0.09) but gender and age had significant effects on the severity of pigmentation (P=0.047, r=0.459 and P<0.001 respectively). Skin color had a significant effect on the type of pigmentation
(P < 0.001).
Discussion: The frequency of oral diffuse pigmentation in patients presenting to the Isfahan dental school was noticeable.
T Arian-Mehr, M Karami,
Volume 17, Issue 4 (3-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Timely dection of influenza outbreaks is very important for a better reponse to outbreaks. The aim of this study was to assess the moving epidemic method for determinating influenza outbreak threshold levels in Iran.
Methods: The moving epidemic method was applied to the WHO Flunet website data from January 2010 to December 2017 with the aim of determining outbreak alert thresholds. Therefore, the performance of the moving epidemic method in identifying the onset of the outbreak over eight periods was reported using sensitivity and specificity indices.
Results: A total of 69169 influenza-like illnesses were recorded in the Fluent website during the study period. The smallest number of influenza-like illnesses for the epidemic was 187 cases in the third period (2011-2012) and the maximum number was 1086 cases in the seventh period (2016-2015). The earliest epidemic occurred during the third and eighth periods of the 48th week, approximately in mid-February. The minimum duration of the epidemic was 8 weeks and the maximum was 13 weeks. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the moving epidemic method were 55% and 96%, respectively.
Conclusion: The moving epidemic method could be used as a complementary method to detection of influenza outbreks. It is recommended to apply the moving epidemic method on influenza and similar communicable diseses.
M Sasanipour, A Khosravi, M Moheby Meymandi,
Volume 17, Issue 4 (3-2022)
Abstract
Background and objectives: Considering the high contribution of unintentional accidents to mortality, particularly in males in Iran, and their changes over the last decade, a study was conducted to review the share of deaths due to unintentional accidents in sex difference in life expectancy at birth in the country over the last decades.
Methods: The mortality data for the years 2006 to 2015 were obtained from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Then, the child mortality was corrected using the intercensal generational method and adult mortality was corrected for underreporting based on the Bennett-Horiuchi method. The contribution of mortality changes due to unintentional accidents to increase in females’ life expectancy was calculated using the ARIAGA decomposition method.
Results: The sex differential in life expectancy was about 3.5 years in 2006 in Iran, which decreased to 2.9 years in 2011 and increased to 3 years in in 2015. The unintentional accidents in all three periods played a dominant role in sex differential mortality, but its contribution over time was significantly reduced, with a contribution of 60% to around 42% between 2006 and 2015.
Conclusion: Due to the slowdown in the increase in life expectancy at birth in Iran in recent decades, attention to differential mortality, including sex difference in mortality and identification of potentials to increase life expectancy according to different groups, can increase life expectancy.
A Hosseinzadeh, Mr Baneshi, B Sedighi, J Kermanchi, Aa Haghdoost,
Volume 18, Issue 1 (5-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Dementia is a chronic disease that imposes a huge financial and social burden on the health system. Knowledge of the prevalence of dementia is essential for healthcare planning and ensuring that there is an adequate service for people with the condition. Considering that the prevalence and geographical variation of dementia are not well known in Iran, the present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of dementia and its geographic variations in Iran.
Methods: In this study, the prevalence of dementia was estimated indirectly using the frequency of prescribed specialized medicines in one year by generic and brand names in each province. Choropleth maps were used to visually assess the geographical variation of dementia prevalence at the provincial level. Moran I and Getis-Ord Gi (Gi) geographical tests were used to investigate the spatial autocorrelation and geographical variability of dementia prevalence at a significant level of 0.05, respectively.
Results: In this study, the prevalence of dementia was 49.6 and 508.9 in 100000 in the general and over 60-year population, respectively. In the general population, the lowest prevalence was in Hormozgan Province (9.4/100000) and the highest prevalence was in East Azarbayjan Province (96.4/100000). In the over 60-year population, the lowest prevalence was in Hormozgan Province (141.5/100000) and the highest in Isfahan Province (862.5/1000000). According to Moran I and Getis-Ord Gi (Gi) tests, spatial autocorrelation and geographical variability of dementia prevalence were not significant.
Conclusion: The prevalence of dementia in the Iranian over 60-year population is lower compared to western countries; however, it is comparable with the reported dementia prevalence from developing countries. It should be noted that the dementia prevalence is high, similar to developed countries, in some developed provinces of Iran.
M Gholamhoseinzadeh, L Ghadirian Marnani, E Ehsani-Chimeh, F Rajabi,
Volume 18, Issue 1 (5-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The distribution of causes of death indicates the distribution of risk factors for death, and is a basis of planning and intervention to reduce risk factors. The quality of the registered information has problems due to the weakness of the processes of completing and issuing the death certificate or the coding method. The purpose of this study was to explain the challenges of death registration and to provide a solution in this regard.
Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in the second half of 2019 in Guilan University of Medical Sciences. The target population was the directors and experts of the death registration program. Sampling was done purposefully by counting. Data was collected through in-depth interviews using a questionnaire and simultaneous contractual content analysis to identify key themes. To ensure the validity and acceptability of the data, the participants and two research colleagues reviewed the data frequently.
Results: According to the content analysis of 24 interviews, the main challenges of death registration included manpower, organizing the death registration system in the country, and death registration software system and its implementation. These themes were abstracted from 45 subcategories and 13 main categories.
Conclusion: Considering the challenges described by death registration managers and experts, the main proposed interventions to improve the death registration system include recruiting appropriate staff, empowering and motivating various human resources departments, developing internal and external cooperation, increasing public participation, monitoring and continuous assessment to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the death registration system and adressing them, attention to the development of death registration software and its required infrastructure such as Internet access and equipment, attention to the multiplicity of systems, and efforts to integrate them.
N Zanjari, M Sasanipour,
Volume 18, Issue 1 (5-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The rate of the increase in life expectancy has slowed down during the last two or three decades in Iran. In this study, we examined the role of change in thecause of death older adults in increasing life expectancy in Iran between 2006 and 2016.
Methods: Death data by age, sex, and cause in Iran between 2006 and 2016 were obtained from the death registration and classification system of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Using the Brass-Trussell and generalized Benett-Horiuchi method, underreporting of child and adult death registration was corrected. Then, using the Arriaga decomposition method, the role of age groups and causes of death of Iranian older adults in increasing life expectancy at birth was calculated.
Results: Men’s life expectancy at birth increased by 3.7 years during 2006 to 2016, and the contribution of older adult’s death changes on this increase was estimated at 2 years. Out of the total increase of 3.1 years in women’s life expectancy, 1.57 years was related to changes in the older adults’ cause of death. Furthermore, 74% and 57% of the role of change in the cause of death among older men and women in increasing the life expectancy was related to cardiovascular diseases.
Conclusion: Considering the transition of age structure in the coming decades, transition of death trend to older ages is expected to continue. The results of this study showed that it is necessary to pay more attention to diseases that affect older people in policy priorities.
Z Alinesaei, Z Hosseinkhani,
Volume 18, Issue 1 (5-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Children, especially adolescents, are one of the main victims of domestic violence, who have received less attention despite their vulnerability to this social problem. This study was conducted to determine the adolescents' perspectives and experiences of domestic violence and parental disputes in order to improve our understanding of the various aspects of this social problem for planning the necessary measures to reduce it.
Methods: The present qualitative study was performed with a content analysis approach. The data were collected using semi-Structural interviews. The participants were students aged 12 to 16 years. Purposeful sampling with maximum variation in terms of socioeconomic status, age and gender was performed. In total, 33 interviews were conducted by two interviewers.
Results: A total of 4 categories, 11 subcategories and 120 themes were extracted as the adolescents' experiences. By summarizing and combining similar themes, the main categories included adolescents' psychological reactions and activities at home and in the school, domestic violence outcomes and cause of violence. The most important cause of violence was socio-economic status of the family, especially father's unemployment. Adolescents who had experienced domestic violence had higher tendencies toward high-risk behavior and academic failure.
Conclusion: According to adolescents' views, socio-economic factors play an important role in the occurrence of domestic violence and can lead to unpleasant social experiences and social harms in their future lives. Therefore, it is necessary for parents, teachers, and policy makers to adopt effective measured to reduce this social problem.
Kh Yarifard, M Tajvar, M Heydari,
Volume 18, Issue 1 (5-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: One of the important basis of health planning in any society is to identify the causes of death and the trend of each cause in that country over time. The purpose of this study is to investigate the trend of youth mortality and causes od death among young population of the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Methods: The present study conducted based on a secondary longitudinal analysis of death data to analyze the trend of youth mortality aged 15-24 and causes of death based on the ICD-10 in Eastern Mediterranean Region between 1990 and 2019. Study data were collected from the IHME Global Burden of Disease (GBD) website and analyzed using descriptive statistical and linear regression analysis. Death rate or cause is the dependent variable and time is the independent variable.
Results: The mortality rate of young people (15 to 24 years old) in all the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region decreased from 1990 to 2019 except in Syria and Libya. Syria was the only country with a significant increase in the death rate. The most common cause of death was accidents; in general, the death rate related to this cause decreased during 30 years. Among the sub-groups of death causes among young people, the highest rate until 2010 was due to road accidents, which decreased over the study years. From 2010 onwards, death due to self-harm and interpersonal violence had the first rank.
Conclusion: Although a declining trend was observed during the last three decades among young people of Eastern Mediterranean region, deaths due to accidents are still considerable. It seems that the interventions to reduce death due to road accidents were successful; however, any policy and intervention to reduce death due to self-harm and interpersonal violence has a high priority.
Mahdieh Shojaei Baghini, Tahereh Naseribooriabadi, Mansooreh Rastgoo, Mahdieh Poornakhaei, Ali Mohammadpour,
Volume 18, Issue 2 (9-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Poisoning is one of the most common causes of hospitalization. The external causes of poisoning and toxic agents differ in age, gender, and occupational groups. It is essential to understand the epidemiological pattern of poisoning in each region to prevent it. This study was conducted to determine the epidemiological characteristics of poisoning in patients referred to the Kerman University of Medical Sciences teaching hospital.
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed retrospectively. Medical records of poisoning patients were reviewed from October 2016 to October 2017. Data was gathered using a researcher-made checklist based on the minimum data elements needed to record the diagnostic expression of poisoning accurately. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS software 24.
Results: Poisoning was higher in males (52.1%), the 20-30 years-old age group (28.5%), single (52.8%), urban regions (80.6%), and self-employed (29.8%). The mean age of the subjects was 26.9±17.21. The external causes of poisoning were associated with marital status, age, gender, occupation, addiction, season, a personal history of suicide attempts, a family history of suicide attempts, and a personal history of poisoning. The toxic agent was also associated with age, gender, occupation, location, and external poisoning causes.
Conclusion: According to the result, poisoning often happens intentionally, so providing a suitable and stress-free family environment might be useful to reduce the amount of intentional poisoning. Educating parents with young children more about child care and how to store chemicals is also necessary.
Maryam Aghajarinezhad, Yahya Salimi, Shahab Rezaeian, Ghobad Moradi, Fatemeh Khosravi Shadmani, Roya Safari Faramani, Ebrahim Shakiba, Yahya Pasdar, Behrooz Hamzeh, Nayebali Rezvani, Mitra Darbandi, Farid Najafi,
Volume 18, Issue 2 (9-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Serological studies are based on the detection of antibodies. However, the produced antibodies decrease over time; therefore, such methods cannot provide a valid estimate of prevalence and incidence. The present study aimed to determine the serum prevalence and cumulative incidence in the Ravansar cohort population (Youth and RaNCD Cohort) in October 2020.
Methods: A random sample of 716 people aged > 18 years old were selected from the participants in the Ravansar cohort study in October 2020. Euroimmun anti-SARS COV-2 IgG ELISA kits (Lübeck, Germany) were used to measure antibody levels. Seroprevalence was estimated with considering of cut-off = 1, and cumulative incidence (modified and modified based on test specificity) was determined using modeling.
Results: In the present study, the serum prevalence of COVID-19 viral infection in the Ravansar cohort population from 22 October 2020 to 18 November 2020 was estimated to be %35.16 (95%CI: %31.64, %38.79). Modified Cumulative incidence and modified based on test characteristics from 20 February to 18 November 2020 were estimated to be %68.85 and %67.71, respectively.
Conclusion: Although very high cumulative incidence may be a sign of approaching herd immunity, adherence to health protocols is still recommended due to the potential role of asymptomatic cases in transmitting the disease to other members of the community; and the presence of new variants of the virus and reduced antibody levels should be considered.
Hamid Soori, Nahid Khodakarami, Alireza Zali, Alireza Noori, Samaneh Akbarpour, Fatemeh Sadat Asgarian,
Volume 18, Issue 3 (12-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: COVID-19 pandemic caused a lot of severe problems in the world. This study investigated the epidemiology of the disease in Tehran in the first quarter of the epidemic's beginning.
Methods: The available information recorded for patients from 20 February 2020 to 20 May 2020 in Tehran was used. To prepare disease-related distribution maps, the addresses of patients' residences in Google Earth were called to ARC-GIS version 10-4. The methods used in GIS include IDW, Hotspot and also software development.
Results: Overall, 3699 individuals whose PCR results were positive in Tehran were included in the study. Out of the total number of them, 550 people died and the fatality rate of the disease in hospitalized patients was 14.9%. One thousand five hundred thirty patients (41.4%) have recovered, and the remaining 1619 patients were under treatment until data collection. Of the total, 1479 confirmed cases were women (40%). The average age was 57.4 years (SD=16.5). The density of cases in areas 4, 8 and 13, and the existence of some cluster diseases in neighborhoods such as Tehran Pars, Ayat and Pirouzi streets are noteworthy points.
Conclusion: The trend of the COVID-19 epidemic is dire and requires long-term measures. Nevertheless, to control this disease, the health system, the policy of isolating patients and suspicious people, wear masks especially in densely populated areas, are the most important controlling factors.
Ali Hasanabadi, Shirin Nasri, Elaheh Salarpour, Naser Nasiri, Hamid Sharifi,
Volume 18, Issue 3 (12-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Screening for home contact with TB patients is essential to identify new infections. This study aimed to evaluate the tuberculosis status in family members of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Bam.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted as a census of patients' family members whose records are registered during 2013-2019 in Bam Health Center. Patients' information was collected based on a checklist, and then sputum smear-positive patients were identified using tuberculin and sputum smear tests.
Results: Ninety-seven of the patients had a positive sputum smear test result. Based on the records of these patients, 237 members of their families were examined as contact persons. Most of the patients were female and in the age group of 40-50 years; 76.8% of them had unprotected close contact, and 78.9% had a history of permanent contact with patients. Five (2.1%; 95% confidence intervals: 0.7-4.9) sputum-positive smear pulmonary tuberculosis cases were found in contacts of patients, most of them were over 50 years old and primarily women. 40% of these people had unprotected close contact, and 80% had a house with less than 70 square meters.
Conclusion: in this study, 2.0% of the family members of patients were sputum smear-positive. Identifying patients and following them up is essential to prevent the spread of tuberculosis in those people around them. Therefore, screening the patient's family members can significantly help ease the disease burden in Iran.
Nasrin Talkhi, Nooshin Akbari Sharak, Zahra Rajabzadeh, Maryam Salari, Seyed Masoud Sadati, Mohammad Taghi Shakeri,
Volume 18, Issue 3 (12-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Due to the high prevalence of COVID-19 disease and its high mortality rate, it is necessary to identify the symptoms, demographic information and underlying diseases that effectively predict COVID-19 death. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to predict the mortality behavior due to COVID-19 in Khorasan Razavi province.
Methods: This study collected data from 51, 460 patients admitted to the hospitals of Khorasan Razavi province from 25 March 2017 to 12 September 2014. Logistic regression and Neural network methods, including machine learning methods, were used to identify survivors and non-survivors caused by COVID-19.
Results: Decreased consciousness, cough, PO2 level less than 93%, age, cancer, chronic kidney diseases, fever, headache, smoking status, and chronic blood diseases are the most important predictors of death. The accuracy of the artificial neural network model was 89.90% in the test phase. Also, the sensitivity, specificity and area under the rock curve in this model are equal to 76.14%, 91.99% and 77.65%, respectively.
Conclusion: Our findings highlight the importance of some demographic information, underlying diseases, and clinical signs in predicting survivors and non-survivors of COVID-19. Also, the neural network model provided high accuracy in prediction. However, medical research in this field will lead to complementary results by using other methods of machine learning and their high power.
