Iranian Journal of Health Sciences
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Winter 2019

Background and Nowadays, immobility is known to be the fourth risk factor for mortality. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between fall experience over the previous year and levels of physical activity in the elderly. The study was performed with 1616 participants of 60≤ years. The relationship between physical activities in the elderly with age, sex, educational level, body mass index, comorbidities, and fall experience over the previous year was evaluated. Physical activity in the elderly was evaluated using the physical activity scale for the elderly. In the multiple regression model, the age (β: -1.6, 95% CI: -2.0- -1.1), sex, female (β: 11.0, 95% CI: 4.3-17.6), and comorbidities (β: -6.8, 95% CI: -13.5 - -0.1) had a significant relationship with the physical activity score. On the contrary, there was no significant difference between the score of physical activity and both groups with and without the experience of fall over the previous year (β: 0.09, 95% CI: -8.0 - 8.2). Increasing age with comorbidity resulted in a decrease in the average physical activity score in the studied elderly population. However, the experience of fall had no relationship with it. Providing the conditions alongside the training required to carry out physical activities, especially in the elderly people with the disease, was suggested

Background and Gamma radiation can affect the content of phytochemicals. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of gamma irradiated chichorium intybus L. root extract to protect against carbon tetra-chloride (CCl4) induced kidneys and testes injury. The rats were divided into six groups according to treatment: I) control, II) CCl4 (1ml/kg body weight by intraperitoneal injection (IP)), III) gamma irradiated chicory root extract (500 mg/kg body weight) + CCl4, IV) non-irradiated chicory root extract (500 mg/kg body weight) + CCl4, V) gamma irradiated chicory root extract, and VI) non-irradiated chicory root extract. The level of BUN and creatinine, and also histological study of kidney and testis tissues were estimated twenty-four hours after the last treatment at the end of four weeks. Gamma irradiated chicory root extract significantly decreased elevated level of BUN and creatinine in the serum of CCl4 treated rats. Histological evaluation revealed that gamma and non-irradiated chicory root extract treatment to CCl4 rats demonstrated reduce Bowman’s space and basement thickening of kidney. Moreover, the results showed the normalization of testes of CCl4 treated animals in group III and IV. The gamma irradiated chicory root showed kidney and testis protection against CCl4 in rats. Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that chicory has a potent protective effect more than non-irradiated chicory root extract due to containing phenolic content.

Background and A significant proportion of retired people who are close to the elderly age, experience the loss of physical and mental symptoms of general health, while on the other hand, the spiritual needs of the elderly is greater than other age groups due to their problems. Therefore, this study focused on one of the most important recent innovations in the concept and measurement of spirituality which meant the scale of daily spiritual experience and its relationship with general health of retired people. This descriptive-analytic study was done among 190 retired elderly who were referred to Isfahan retirement center and were selected through simple sampling. The information was collected via demographic variables, general health questioner, and daily spiritual experiences scale. Data analysis was also done by SPSS Software 21 through descriptive statistical tests, Pearson correlation coefficient, t-test, and ANOVA. In this study, the mean score of general health was 29.67±10.60, and the mean score of their daily spiritual experiences was 73.11±16.9. In addition, the results showed significant and positive correlation between daily spiritual experiences and general health of the elderly (p According to the results, when retired elderly had more daily spiritual experiences, they experienced more general health. So, having a comprehensive view to the elderly spiritual needs in health educating programs, so as to induce more appropriate care, seems necessary

Background and Serum total cholesterol (TC) concentrations are affected by several factors including ethnicity, diet, geographic, and environmental determinants, and are related to another disease, including hypothyroidism, and renal and liver disease. It is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly if associated with high levels of serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The distribution of TC levels within populations may be useful, and the current study aimed to determine the reference values and specific cut points in a population sample from Mashhad, Iran. A cross-sectional study was conducted, and data was collected from 6518 individuals (2483 men and 4035 women) aged 25–64 year-old living in Mashhad city using a stratified cluster random sampling design.
Reference values for borderline and high TC levels in three age groups were obtained using a percentile regression model. Data were analyzed using Quantreg Software Package and R Ver. 3.1.2 Software. Within the population sample, 38% of the subjects were male and 62% of them were female. The mean and standard deviation for age were found to be 47.07±9 years and 45.28±9 years for men and women, respectively. Percentile regression showed that borderline TC levels for men and women aged 25-64 years were 198-216 mg/dl and 176-243mg/dl, respectively. The values for defining high TC levels were also 226-239 mg/dl in men and 202 - 271 mg/dl in women. Our study estimated reference values and cut points for borderline and high TC separately in both men and women, and age-related sub-groups for a population derived from Mashhad. These findings could be used in local policy plans to allocate health resources.

Background and The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of zinc oxidenanoparticles (ZnO NPs) in combination with US-H2O2 advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for the removal of antibiotic amoxicillin (AMO) from aquatic environment. This experimental study was conducted in a batch reactor system. The effect of the parameters, such as pH (3-8), the dose of nanoparticles (0.01-0.08 g/L), reaction time (10-100 min), the initial concentration of the AMO (150-250 mg/L) and H2O2 (0.1 – 5Mol/L) on the removal efficiency were studied in ultrasonic reactor. The residual AMO concentrations were measured at 190 nm using a UV/Vis spectrophotometer. The results showed that the US-H2O2 advanced oxidation processes using ZnO NPs can effectively lead to the removal of AMO from the wastewater. The optimal conditions for this process were pH 3, 0.1 M of H2O2 and the dose ZnO NPs 0.05 g/L and time of 60 minutes. In the current study, it was found that the removal efficiency dropped with the increasing concentrations of AMO. Under optimal conditions with 150 mg/L of AMO and contact time of 60 min, the efficiency removal was also equal to 92.47%. The results of this study showed that AOP was a very effective method that can be used for the removal of AMO antibiotic from aqueous solutions.

Background and Due to the important role of emergencies and accidents as mainspring of mortality and morbidity, providing emergency services must be taken into account at all levels of health system. The aim of this study was to investigate the perspectives of healthcare providers on providing pre-hospital emergency services and its challenges in primary healthcare (PHC) levels in Golestan Province, northern Iran. The researchers conducted 31 interviews totally (n=21 community health workers and n=10 family physicians) using semi-structured and in-depth interviews in Golestan Province, north of Iran in the year 2014. All interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. The collected data was then analyzed through qualitative content analysis. In total, three categories were identified related to emergency services in the primary healthcare system, including 1) Different status of providing primary preventive and emergency care in primary healthcare levels, 2) Need to develop the emergency services in health houses, and 3) Challenges of providing appropriate emergency services in the primary levels of healthcare system, such as lack of physical and human resources, weakness in monitoring and education system, inadequate skills, motivation in health team, heavy workload, and insufficient cooperation with other related organizations. The primary levels of healthcare system were not properly serviced in emergencies. They were also faced with numerous challenges that necessitate health policy makers to plan for promoting and providing required services at this level of healthcare system