ardabil

 Breast cancer remains the most prevalent malignancy, the leading cause of cancer-related mortality, and a significant public health challenge among women worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics and contributing factors of breast cancer in Ardabil city during 2011-2022.

This cross-sectional analytical study examined all breast cancer cases identified in Ardabil County between 2011-2022. Primary data were extracted from medical records of patients initially diagnosed at Imam Khomeini Educational-Therapeutic Center. Supplementary information was collected using a researcher-designed checklist encompassing >40 demographic, clinical, lifestyle, and environmental variables from health center records. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-18, employing descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, SD) and analytical tests (Pearson correlation, logistic regression).

The annual incidence averaged 55 cases during the study period. Age-adjusted incidence rates were 14.3 and 15.3 per 100,000 women in 2011 and 2022, respectively. Patients' mean age was 53.6 years, with >99% being female and >96% married. Parity ranged from 0-11 children (mean: 4.5). Multivariate analysis identified two significant predictive factors: age >50 years (p<0.05) and exclusive breastfeeding duration <1 year (p<0.05), while other variables showed no significant association.

The incidence of breast cancer in Ardabil appears lower than national rates. Among risk factors, only advanced age and short breastfeeding duration demonstrated significant predictive value. We recommend: 1) Enhancing cancer registry systems with standardized risk factor documentation, 2) Establishing efficient referral networks between treatment centers and public health departments, and 3) Implementing continuous professional education programs for healthcare providers to improve case detection and data completeness.

Previous studies have shown that advanced maternal age is directly associated with an increased risk of miscarriage and chromosomal abnormalities. This study aimed to investigate the pregnancy outcomes in women over 35 years age referred to Alavi Hospital in Ardabil during the years 2018 to 2020.

In this study, pregnant women over 35 years old who visited Alavi Hospital were followed from their first prenatal visit (up to the 8th week of pregnancy) until delivery to assess pregnancy outcomes. Background information and pregnancy outcomes were recorded using a researcher-made checklist based on patients' medical records and then analyzed using statistical software.

This study included 300 mothers over the age of 35. The mean age was 39.55±2.46 years, and the mean BMI was 28.57±2.78. Seven women (2.78%) had a history of smoking. The second pregnancy was reported in 133 cases (44.3%), and 31 women (10.3%) had used assisted reproductive technology. Chromosomal abnormalities in previous children were observed in 5 cases (1.7%). The most common pregnancy complications included cesarean delivery in 104 cases (34.7%), gestational diabetes in 21 cases (7%), preterm delivery in 19 cases (6.3%), and gestational hypertension in 15 cases (5%). Stillbirth was reported in 1 case (0.3%).

Cesarean delivery, gestational diabetes, preterm delivery, and gestational hypertension were the most common pregnancy complications in mothers over 35 years of age.

Gastric cancer is a type of malignancy that affects the digestive system. Symptoms of gastric cancer are often hard to detect in the early stages, and become more noticeable only after cancer cells have grown inside the stomach wall and spread to other parts of the body. The genetic code of the cancer cells is located within the genome. Synonymous and non-synonymous mutations are two subgroups of SNP codes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between genetic variants and susceptibility to gastric cancer in Ardabil province.

The distribution of variants in the genomic DNA of 150 volunteers from the general population of Ardabil was determined using whole exome sequencing. Databases such as Iranome, Alfa, GnomAD, and 1000G were used to compare allele frequencies. After calculating the frequency of variants using standard methods, Pearson correlation was utilized to statistically analyze their correlation with age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) for gastric cancer in related populations. A p-value below 0.05 was deemed statistically significant for all analyses. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics version 25.

Significant differences in 19 variants , including rs10061133, rs1050631, rs12220909, rs12983273, rs1695, rs2274223, rs2292832, rs2294008, rs2505901, rs2976391, rs33927012, rs3744037, rs3745469, rs4789936, rs4986790, rs4986791, rs6194, rs63750447, and rs6505162 were found between the general population of Ardabil and other populations. A statistically significant difference was observed and reported at the 0.05 and 0.01 levels in relation to the correlation between the desired variants.

Results suggest a correlation between gene variants in carcinogenesis, highlighting the need for functional studies on gene cooperation in gastric cancer development.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world, as well as skin cancer is the most common cancer among human cancers and causes great costs and economic and social harm to society. The increase in skin cancer in our country and also in Ardabil province led us to study the prevalence and epidemiological trend of 10 years of skin cancer in patients referred to the skin clinic in Ardabil 2011-2021.

In this study, 331 patients had been referred to a dermatology clinic with a diagnosis of skin cancer during 2011 to 2021. The checklists were completed based on the information in their files.

Of all patients, 208 (62.8%) were male, 60.4% from Ardabil, 14.2% were in year 2016 and 46.2% were in the age group of 50-70 years. The mean age of patients was 62.5±14.7 in range 25-96 years. The most common type of skin cancer in the studied samples during ten years was related to BCC with 184 cases (55.6%) and the most studied patients were in grade 3 with 231 patients (69.8%). The most common site of skin cancer with 93 cases (28.1%) was in the nose.

Results showed that the trend of skin cancer in the studied samples similar to the provincial statistics did not have a constant decrease or increase trend and had a fluctuating trend. The incidence of this disease in male clients was about twice that of female clients and most cases were in high grades and BCC type.

Public health is a fundamental branch of health sciences, aiming to cultivate professionals who are responsive to individual, family and societal health needs. An effective training program is vital for equipping healthcare professionals to deliver quality services at the community level. This study examines the extent to which the Bachelor of Public Health curriculum aligns with the job requirements of healthcare networks.

A cross-sectional study was conducted, involving managers and staff from healthcare centers, with a census sampling method employed. Data were gathered through a standard questionnaire, validated for reliability, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient exceeding 0.7 across all dimensions. The questionnaire included two sections: demographics and a list of courses aligned with the Bachelor of Public Health curriculum.

Among the 100 participants, 73 held bachelor's degrees, while others included 22 with master's degrees, 4 with doctorates, and 2 with associate degrees, all currently employed. Overall job satisfaction was reported by 43% of respondents, and 52% felt that their job positions corresponded with their field of study. In the basic and core courses of the Bachelor of Public Health program, 12.2% of the participants believe that the level of adaptation is very high, while 20% believe that the adaptation of specific courses to job needs is very high in general.

The compliance rate for core Bachelor of Public Health courses are below 50%, indicating a gap in alignment with job requirements. However, special courses demonstrated a compliance rate exceeding 50%, which participants deemed high and very high. This highlights the necessity for a comprehensive review and revision of the public health curriculum, particularly in basic and core courses, to better prepare graduates for the evolving demands of healthcare networks.

Poisoning is one of the common causes of hospital emergency department referrals, especially in adolescents and young people; therefore, knowing the pattern of poisoning will be helpful in identifying risk factors and early detection of poisoning. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of acute poisoning in adults referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ardabil from 2017 to 2020.

In this descriptive-analytical and retrospective study, 755 cases related to poisoned patients referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ardabil from 2017 to 2020 were reviewed. The extracted data include ward, gender, age, marital status, place of residence, general status, cause of poisoning, and time of referral, were recorded on the checklist. Obtained Data were analyzed by Chi-square test and SPSS25 software.

The results showed that drug poisoning, opium (opium and its derivatives) and pesticides were the first to third ranks of the most poisoning agents. Most of the poisoned patients were men, married, in the age group of 21 to 30 and living in urban areas. Most of the poisonings were intentional and 33 deaths (4.4%) happened due to poisonings. The cause of poisoning had a significant relationship with age, sex, marital status, place of poisoning (p<0.05) but had no significant relationship with the general condition and time of patients' referral.

Acute poisoning is a major health problem in Ardabil province. The results show that the three agents of drug poisoning, opium and pesticides are the main means of poisoning in adults. Most cases of poisoning occurred in young and adult groups and were in the age range of 21 to 30 years. Poisonings occurred in people aged 31 to 40 were more due to amphetamine. Poisoning with aluminum phosphide tablets had increased compared to before. Consumption of aluminum phosphide is one of the problems of today's societies and it was one of the main causes of death in this research, so it is better to provide necessary measures for management and training for its correct use. Also, by limiting the use of these agents and replacing other methods and techniques, poisoning with these agents can be reduced.

Covid-19 is an emerging disease that has affected the world in recent years. In addition to pulmonary effects, some skin manifestations are also observed in Covid-19 patients. Considering the lack of studies on the prevalence of these demonstrations in Ardabil, the present study was conducted. The purpose of this study was to investigate skin and mucosal manifestations in patients with Covid-19 admitted to Imam Khomeini Hospital (RA) in Ardabil.

The study population was the patients of Covid-19 hospitalized in the Corona ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital (RA) in Ardabil province in 3 months of autumn 1400. In this study, 274 patients were examined and the required information was collected using a checklist.

Among the studied people; 191 patients (69.7%) were women and 83 patients (30.3%) were men. The average age of the study patients was 59.25 years with a standard deviation of 12.32. 14 patients (5.1%) had skin manifestations. Among the 14 patients with skin manifestations, 78.6% mentioned that these manifestations occurred after contracting the coronavirus. Also, 50% mentioned that these lesions are itchy. 50% described these lesions as progressive. 57.1% of patients with skin manifestations mentioned that they experienced hair loss after contracting the coronavirus.

The prevalence rate of skin manifestations in corona patients of Ardabil city was 5.1%. This amount showed the need to pay more attention to skin manifestations, especially in patients without a history of skin sensitivity.

In Iran, half of all deaths and 79% of deaths from non-communicable diseases are attributed to cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, more than 76% of the total burden of diseases and the first cause of catastrophic health expenses in Iran are related to these diseases. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the status and trend of providing cardiovascular disease risk assessment services by gender, in order to carry out the necessary interventions in the comprehensive health service centers of Ardabil province, Iran.

The present descriptive study was conducted in Ardabil University of Medical Sciences. It used the data available in the registration system of the Health Network. The research population consisted of all men and women aged between 40 and 80 who visited the comprehensive health service centers to perform risk assessment of cardiovascular strokes in the province from 2018 to the end of 2022. The data were entered into Excel software. FORCAST function was used to predict the future through a linear regression analysis. To compare the final results, which is actually a reduction in mortality due to cardiovascular diseases, the difference test of two mortality rates due to cardiovascular diseases was used in 2018 and march 2023.

The results showed a relatively high prevalence of some risk factors for cardiovascular diseases including history of hypertension, diabetes, abdominal obesity, suspected diabetes, lipid disorder, body mass index of 30 and above in women. Also, the results of the study showed that 38.3% of men and 61.72% of women were at the risk level of 10-20%, 34.8% of men and 65.2% of women were at the risk level of 20-30%, and 28.9% of men and 71.1% of women were at the risk level above 30%.

Women were more at risk of cardiovascular diseases and complications than men. Knowing the common risk factors in the region helps to focus interventions on effective prevention and treatment measures and to adopt evidence-informed policies in order to reduce these risk factors.

Hepatitis B virus [HBV] infection is one of the most important public health concerns. The present study was conducted to provide a descriptive analysis of detected HBV infection in Ardabil province.

In this retrospective longitudinal study, the hepatitis B surveillance database of Ardabil province was examined from 2014 to 2018. The frequency of hepatitis B virus infections was presented based on age, gender, marital status, place of residence, primary symptoms, and reporting sources. Also, the trend of changes in the number of detected cases over time was investigated using time series analysis.

A total of 817 positive cases with a mean age of 43.1 years were reported. Most of them were male [n=503, 61.5]. The Frequency of identified positive cases decreased over time. Most of the infections were asymptomatic [87.5%]. Almost 90.0% of patients with HBV were married and the majority of the identified patients were resided in urban settings [n=598, 73.2%]. Most diagnostic tests were done voluntarily [n=219, 26.8%] or during prenatal care [n=109, 13.3%]. Most cases were identified and reported by the health network [n=292, 35.7%] and blood transfusion organization [n=190, 23.2%].

Decision-makers of the health sector of the province can use this information as a source for evidence-based decision-making in the effective management of the disease.

Designing knee osteoarthritis (KOA) prevention programs requires recognizing modifiable risk factors. This study aimed to determine the frequency of osteoarthritis in patients with knee pain referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ardabil city.

In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 850 patients with knee pain who were referred to the clinic of rheumatology in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ardabil city were studied. Demographic and personal characteristics and medical history of OA were collected from the participants by a checklist. Osteoarthritis was diagnosed based on clinical and radiographic evidence by a rheumatologist.

Of all patients, 310 (36.5%) were diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis. The most of patients (33.5%) were in the age group of 50-59 years old, women (80.6%) and housewives (29%). 39.9% of all patiens had obesity and most of them (43.2%) have not exercised at any time. A family history of knee osteoarthritis was reported in 45.2% of patients, while a family history of joint replacement was reported in 6.1%. 15.8% of patients reported a history of previous knee trauma. The type of used toilet was traditional in 90.3%.

The frequency of knee OA in our study similar to other studies was at a moderate level and due to regional risk factors, it is suggested to reduce the incidence of KOA by presenting necessary training programs and changing the nutritional patterns of society people.

Covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by the novel Coronavirus, and its pandemic has resulted in numerous deaths and losses worldwide. This study aimed to predict Corona-preventive behaviors in adults aged 30 to 50 admitted to Ardabil health centers based on their health literacy.

The present study was a correlational descriptive-analytical study. The statistical population consisted of 30 to 50-year-old patients admitted to Ardabil health centers (Iran) in 2019, from which 232 were randomly selected using cluster sampling. Data were collected through administering a health literacy and preventative behavior questionnaire online. The data were then analyzed using inferential (Pearson correlation and linear regression) statistics by the SPSS software (version 26) with a significance threshold of 0.05.

The results of this investigation revealed a statistically significant relationship (P<0.0001) between health literacy and anti-Covid-19 preventative behavior. In addition, there was a direct but moderate correlation between the stated factors (r=0.526). According to the findings of linear regression analysis, decision-making (P<0.0001, B=0.980) and knowledge (P=0.008, B=0.588) were the strongest predictors of preventive behavior. Overall, the variables included in the regression analysis predicted 65.6% of the Covid-19 disease-preventive behaviors.

This study demonstrated that health literacy plays a crucial role in enhancing citizens’ preventative behaviors against Covid-19. Therefore, it is possible to strengthen people’s preventive behavior against Covid-19 by enhancing their health literacy.

Considering the significant number of injured people in spas, the main goal of this research is to provide a model for measuring and managing risk in spas.

To prepare the conceptual model of risk, four steps were taken, which include determining the general outline of the model, identifying the parameters, evaluating and scoring the parameters based on the questionnaire, using the hierarchical analysis method, and evaluating and determining the final risk of the pools. According to the allowed standard range of each parameter, five ranges for each parameter were obtained based on the obtained weights, health, safety and environmental risk classes. Finally, by summing up these parameters, the final score of the risk of using each pool is obtained. In order to evaluate the presented model, the risk value of hot mineral water pools in Ardabil province was obtained with the innovative method of this research.

According to the results, according to the risk score, Gutursoi and Gamish-Goli spas have an unacceptable risk level, while Qainarjeh, Shabil, Barjelo and Sablan spas are at a high-risk level.

The presented model was validated with the evidence of forensic events. According to the results of the conceptual model of risk and the score obtained for each component and sub-components, appropriate solutions were presented, including the need to modify the current standards in each spa.