Epidemiology and Health System Journal
Volume:6 Issue: 3, Summer 2019

Nowadays, work-related musculoskeletal disorders are the most commonoccupational diseases. The prevention of these disorders requires a posture analysis during workand the improvement of working conditions. The purpose of this study was to determine risk factorsfor musculoskeletal disorders and corrective priorities to perform the work by conducting posturesanalysis using Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA).

In this descriptive-analytical study, the posture of dentists during working was analyzedusing the REBA software. The incidence rate of musculoskeletal disorders was investigated by theNordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ). A P value less than 0.05 was considered statisticallysignificant.

In this applied study, the incidence rates of the pain in neck, waist, shoulders, and wristswere reported to be 68%, 55%, 41% and 28%, respectively. The above-mentioned values were higherin women than in men. The pain in thigh and leg was related to work and the pain in ankle andsole was related to body mass index (BMI). The relationship between musculoskeletal disorders andoccupational postures of dentists was statistically significant (P < 0.05).

Training the principles of ergonomics and anthropometrics, the correct methods andprinciples of performing work, and the ways of using the instruments are necessary for the studiedpopulation. Occupational postures require ergonomic intervention and correction.

Salmonella spp. infect cold-blooded and warm-blooded animals and maycause a worldwide zoonotic disease, salmonellosis, in infected animals. Rodents can be Salmonellacarriers without any signs of salmonellosis. The frequency of salmonella contamination, the presence ofvirulence genes (SpvR and SpvB) and antibiotic resistance pattern of isolated Salmonella were studiedin rural Mus musculus to reveal the possible role of them in Salmonella dissemination in Golestanprovince. A total of 190 wet rectal swabs of M. musculus were obtained from rural areas of Golestanprovince with different climate conditions. The swabs were cultured and positive samples wereserotyped and their antibiotic resistance patterns were studied. The presence of Salmonella andvirulence genes was analyzed by SpvR and SpvB genes primers, respectively. Salmonella spp. were detected in 15 (7%) of 190 fecal samples by bacterial culture and PCR.S. enteritidis (n=9) and S. typhimurium (n=6) were identified. The highest and lowest frequencies weredetected in humid (13.1%) and arid areas (3.1%), respectively. SpvR and SpvB genes were diagnosedin 10 of 15 (66.6%) isolated Salmonella. The highest resistance of detected Salmonella spp. wasobserved against streptomycin (53%). All the isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol, gentamicinand trimethoprim. The Salmonella contamination in sampled house mice indicates that native people shouldbe made aware of the risk of Salmonella infection and possible ways of salmonella transmission throughrodents. In addition, the application of appropriate therapeutic approaches to prevent the spread ofantibiotic resistant Salmonella is recommended.

Given that computer games have positive and negative functions and mayaffect the mental health of individuals, the present research aimed to study the relationship betweenthe tendency to playing computer games and the mental health of junior high school students inShahr-e Kord.

The current cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 245 boy and girljunior high school students of Shahr-e Kord in 2016. The participants were selected using a randomcluster sampling method. The required data were collected using questionnaires of demographicvariables, the standard 28-item General Health Questionnaire, and an author-made questionnaire onthe tendency to computer games. Finally, the data were statistically analyzed using descriptive andanalytic tests in SPSS-18. Participation in the study was voluntary.

The results showed that 31.8% of the students aged 14 years old. In addition, the tendencyto computer games was higher in girls (0.027) and their level of mental health was lower comparedto boys (P = 0.032). There was a significant relationship between the tendency to computer gamesand the age of the students (P = 0.023). Eventually, age (P = 0.025) and gender (P = 0.09) represented asignificant relationship with the mental health of the students.

Based on the low level of mental health in girls, it is necessary to pay special attention tothe symptoms of depression and anxiety and social functions in adolescents, control the time spent onplaying the computer games, plan carefully for their leisure time, direct adolescents toward readingbooks, and promote their health using educational patterns.

As suggested by the Minorities’ Diminished Return Theory, the associationbetween socioeconomic status and health is weaker for racial and ethnic minorities compared toWhites. The current study compared Blacks and Whites in terms of the association between maritalstatus and physical health. The State of the State Survey (SOSS) included 881 adults (92 Blacks and 782 Whites)generalizable to the state of Michigan, the United States. The marital status and self-rated physical health(SRPH), which was measured using a single item, were considered as independent and dependentvariables, respectively. In addition, age, gender, education, and employment were covariates and race/ethnicity was regarded as the moderating factor. Finally, logistic regression was used for data analysis. Based on the results, being married was associated with better SRPH, which is the netconsidered by all confounders. A significant interaction was found between race and marital status onSRPH, suggesting a larger association for Blacks compared to Whites. In race stratified models, maritalstatus was related to better SRPH for Whites and Blacks, but the magnitude of this link was larger forBlacks compared to Whites. Overall, marital status was differently linked to SRPM for Whites and Blacks. Accordingly,policymakers should be cautious while not assuming that diverse racial and ethnic groups with similareconomic resources have similar health status.

Body image is defined as a complex concept involving a person’s thoughts,feelings, and attitudes about his/her body. The body image dissatisfaction may expose the individuals,specifically athletes, to eating disorders (EDs). The aim of this study is to assess the association of bodyimage score with EDs and anthropometric measures in students from university sports teams. This cross-sectional study was carried out on 225 students from sports teams of QazvinUniversity in 2014. The samples were selected by the census method. The Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ), eating attitudes test (EAT-26) questionnaire, and demographicinformation questionnaire were used for collecting data. Anthropometric characteristics were alsomeasured. The data were analyzed in SPSS software version 22.0. The result of the study showed that the association of body image score with age (P=0.012,OR=0.80, CI=0.179, 1.437) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) (P=0.013, OR=-52.14, CI=-93.20,-11.08) was positively significant. Although the mean body image score was lower in students withEDs, it was not statistically significant. In addition, there was not a significant association between bodyimage score and other variables such as marital status, gender, educational level, body mass index(BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and hip circumference (HC) (P>0.05). In this study, the body image had a positive significant association with age, and a negativesignificant one with WHtR. This may indicate that abdominal obesity plays an important role in bodyimage satisfaction among students from the university sports teams.

Experience transfer and the knowledge utilization of rapid and timely outbreakcontrol can be the key path-finding to health systems (HSs). The aim of this study was to investigate anEntamoeba histolytica diarrhea outbreak through timely control.

A case-control study and an environmental survey were conducted to identify the sourceof infection and the outbreak etiological agent. Sixty-two confirmed cases in Idahluye Bozorg village,Iran, and 62 group-matched controls (in terms of age and sex) were selected from the healthy neighborsof the same village during the same period. Then, multiple logistic regression was applied to calculatethe adjusted odds ratio for diarrhea risk.

Totally, 250 cases were identified by a continuous common source epidemic from January19th to 31st, 2018. Out of the total 36 stool samples, E. histolytica was detected as the commonorganism. In addition, the final analysis indicated that network drinking water (NDW) increased theodds of diarrhea (16.56, 95% CI = 4.14-64.87), whereas well water and boiling water had protectiveeffects and decreased the odds of diarrhea by 81% and 66%, respectively.

Overall, the source of infection was detected due to the contamination of undergroundNDW by pipe sewage erosion. Therefore, additional monitoring of water systems is necessary,especially during the summer and regarding full readiness for outbreak control.

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite which has the potential toinfect all warm-blooded animals. Sheep and cattle play a main role in the economy and their infectionto T. gondii, besides economic losses, can cause the infection of humans through the consumptionof raw meat and other products. In this study, we aimed to survey the prevalence of T. gondii in thelivestock in Isfahan, Iran. A total of 384 samples including 144 sheep and 130 bovine serum samples from Isfahan and50 sheep and 60 bovine serum samples from Kashan slaughterhouses were tested for the presence ofT. gondii antibody using the indirect immunofluorescence method. In general, the antibody was found in 27.31% of sheep and 22.63% of cattle at a dilution of≥1:200. In detail, 26.15% of bovine and 26.17% of sheep serums from Isfahan and 15% of bovine and22% of sheep serums from Kashan were seropositive. The study revealed that sheep and cattle can be a significant intermediate host for thespread of the disease in this region (Isfahan province) and the health and livestock authorities in theprovince should be given priority in improving animal welfare and nutrition.

Since accurate forecasts help inform decisions for preventive health-careintervention and epidemic control, this goal can only be achieved by making use of appropriatetechniques and methodologies. As much as forecast precision is important, methods and modelselection procedures are critical to forecast precision. This study aimed at providing an overview ofthe selection of the right artificial neural network (ANN) methodology for the epidemic forecasts. It isnecessary for forecasters to apply the right tools for the epidemic forecasts with high precision.

It involved sampling and survey of epidemic forecasts based on ANN. A comparison ofperformance using ANN forecast and other methods was reviewed. Hybrids of a neural network withother classical methods or meta-heuristics that improved performance of epidemic forecasts wereanalysed.

Implementing hybrid ANN using data transformation techniques based on improvedalgorithms, combining forecast models, and using technological platforms enhance the learning andgeneralization of ANN in forecasting epidemics.

The selection of forecasting tool is critical to the precision of epidemic forecast; hence, aworking guide for the choice of appropriate tools will help reduce inconsistency and imprecision inforecasting epidemic size in populations. ANN hybrids that combined other algorithms and models,data transformation and technology should be used for an epidemic forecast.