Journal of School of Public Health and

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Background and Aim: In breach of all international conventions, Iraq frequently used chemical weapons against both military and civilian targets in its 8-year war with Iran. The most frequently used agent was sulfur mustard. The effects of mustard gas may be divided into early and late categories. Late lesions, due to the agent's mutagenic and carcinogenic potential, are mainly the results of its action on intracellular particles, probably nucleic acids. Although the occurrence of cancer has been proved following long-term exposure, the presence of a carcinogenic effect in acute, short-term contact is still in doubt.
Materials and Methods: To determine the relationship between cancer and acute exposure to mustard gas, a historical cohort study was carried out in Isfahan province, involving 500 chemically-injured soldiers with at least one episode of exposure to mustard gas. The incidence of cancer and the death rates in these subjects were compared with similar rates from i) 500 unexposed soldiers in the same area and ii) nationwide figures.
Results: All the subjects were male. The mean age in the exposed and unexposed groups were 41(±10.8), and 40(±7.6) years respectively. Within the exposed group, the mean age at first exposure was 24.1(±13) years the mean age at first injury in the unexposed group was 23(±11) years. Eighty-one percent of the cases lived in cities and 19% in rural areas. For 395 persons (84.5%) in the exposed group, education was at high school level or below. Within the same group, 481 subjects (96.2%) were married. Sixty-three people (12.6%) were servicemen and 366 (73.2%) had civilian jobs. Three cases of cancer were observed in those exposed to mustard gas. No cases occurred in the unexposed group. Ten people in exposed group and 7 in the unexposed group were dead at the time of the study. Relative risks for cancer and death were estimated at 4.02 (CI 95% = 0.45-36.1) and 1.44 (CI 95% = 0.54-3.81) respectively.
Conclusion: The results failed to show a statistically significant relationship between cancer incidence and acute exposure to sulfur mustard.

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Background and Aim: Motorcyclists constitute a large and growing portion of the victims of traffic accidents in Iran. Reasons include high motorcycle production rates and relatively low prices. This case control study was conducted to look at the role of a number of presumed risk factors in Kashan, a city with high motorcyclist casualty rates.

Material and Methods: Cases for this study were motorcyclists listed by the Traffic Police as either injured or killed over the period extending from 20/3/2005 to 20/9/2005. For each case, another motorcyclist who regularly passed the point of accident on the same day of the week was taken as control. Supplementary data were gathered by interview with the subjects (when possible) or a first-degree relative (for dead cases). Data were analyzed using the SPSS software.

Results: There were statistically significant relationships between the occurrence of death or injury and the following set of factors: age, marital status, job, education, vehicle ownership, BMI, driving experience with motorcycles and cars, time spent driving in one day, driver's estimate of his own speed, and  weather conditions.

Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of effective interventions and offers some useful information for policy makers.