Iranian Journal of Public Health
Volume:52 Issue: 11, Nov 2023

Pneumoconiosis is a collection of lung diseases caused by inhaling mineral dust that poses an important risk to public health worldwide. Effective clinical treatments are currently limited, but pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) has shown promise in treating respiratory diseases. This review aims to assess the effectiveness of PR strategies for treating pneumoconiosis. We searched research studies that investigated the effectiveness of PR interventions for pneumoconiosis patients in international scientific databases and comprehensively reviewed PR strategies for the treatment of pneumoconiosis. Pneumoconiosis patients are increasingly being treated with a multimodal PR program. PR interventions could save healthcare costs, reduce dyspnea, improve exercise performance, and enhance overall health-related quality of life in patients with pneumoconiosis. PR interventions are effective in improving respiratory function and quality of life in patients with pneumoconiosis. However, further research is needed to determine the optimal PR strategies for pneumoconiosis patients and to investigate the long-term effects of these interventions.

Laryngeal cancer comprises 30%-40% of head and neck malignancies, and it is the most common malignancy in otolaryngology. The main risk factors for laryngeal cancer are tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, gastroesophageal reflex, Plummer-Vinson syndrome, exposure to heat, chemicals, and some viral infections. This literature review summarizes all known data over the past decade with an assessment of the main etiological factors related to cancer incidence, general measurement issues in the cancer epidemiology and the current state of science in relation to laryngeal cancer. The geographical distribution of laryngeal cancer also reveals some important aspects. Europe remains the most prevalent continent for this type of malignancy, whilst the epidemiologic burden in Africa remains low. Overall, there are clear differences in morbidity and mortality from laryngeal cancer between urban and rural areas, with gender inequalities. In some countries, the incidence rates are high in rural areas, and in some, such as in China, the urban population is more affected. High rates of laryngeal cancer are closely associated with both low average income and a high percentage of the population with lower-than-average education countries with higher Socio-demographic Index (SDI) have made greater improvements in the treatment of LC than countries with lower SDI. Epidemiological data on risk factors can provide valuable information for developing cancer prevention strategies.

Accurate and non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic markers are necessary to improve patient outcomes. MicroRNAs have been proposed as relatively non-invasive and pertinent biomarkers. miR-93 has been studied for its potential as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in prostate cancer (PCa), but findings from individual studies are inconsistent. We conducted a meta-analysis of its overall differential expression in 13 PCa studies and a bioinformatics analysis to provide a comprehensive appraisal of its diagnostic and prognostic role.

We searched all published papers on miR-93 expression in PCa up to Nov 30, 2022 using PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases. We used RevMan software to Meta-analyze the included literature. A bioinformatics analysis of genes and pathways that might be target to the effect of the mature miR-93-5p was carried out.

The pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) of miR-93 expression in PCa, its area under the curve (AUC) and hazard ratio (HR) were 1.26, 95% CI [-0.34–2.86], 0.84, 95% CI [0.76 –0.93] and 1.67, 95% CI [0.98, 2.84] respectively. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that mature miR-93-5p may regulate genes such as SMAD1, SMAD7 and MAPK and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathways.

miR-93 has significant diagnostic and prognostic value in PCa. These findings highlight the potential of miR-93 as a non-invasive biomarker for PCa and may contribute to earlier detection and prognostic assessment. The target genes and signaling pathways regulated by miR-93 may provide insights into the underlying molecular mechanisms of PCa.

Many epidemiological studies have explored the relationship between single-nucleotide polymorphism and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the results remain controversial. We performed a large-scale meta-analysis to draw a more precise estimation of the aforementioned association.

Studies on the association between microRNA (MIR) polymorphisms and HCC risk that had been published up to Sep 30, 2021 were identified by searching the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Chinese Biomedical Literature electronic databases and the Excerpta Medical Database. The association between MIR polymorphisms and HCC risk was assessed using odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Overall, 29 studies, with a total of 9,263 cases and 10,875 controls, were included in our meta-analysis. MicroRNA149 (MIR149) significantly decreased the risk of developing HCC on the overall population (homozygous model CC vs. TT: OR = 0.703, 95% CI = 0.549-0.899, P = 0.005), and microRNA 196 (MIR196) significantly decreased the risk of developing HCC on the overall population (recessive model TT vs. CT+CC: OR = 0.864, 95% CI = 0.751-0.993, P = 0.04) and on Caucasians (OR = 0.613, 95% CI = 0.414-0.907, P = 0.014).

The MIR149 and MIR196 polymorphisms are the protect factors of developing HCC. The conduct of multi-center and multi-region studies with gene-gene, gene-environment should be considered.

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections have been continuously increasing as major concerns of public health in Iran. Because innate resistance of NTM species, the treatment of these infections is difficult task, but until now resistance pattern of NTM and suitable regimens are not determined.

We systematically searched the relevant studies in PubMed, Scopus, and Embase (Until Dec 2022). All statistical analyses were carried out using the statistical package R.

Eleven studies included in the analysis were performed in 6 provinces and investigated 1223 NTM clinical species. The majority of the studies originated in Tehran. Among the first-line anti-TB drugs, almost all NTM species were highly resistant to first-line anti-TB drugs. No significant difference in the isoniazid resistance rate was found in the slow or rapid-growing species and Runyon's classification of NTM isolates. A decreased in the prevalence of ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, and moxifloxacin resistance were showed in during 2013-2022 years.

Most investigated antibiotics have a minor effect on NTM species and a steady increase of resistance has been seen in last few years then, need more-effective alternative regimens is clear.

The implementation of health interventions requires the collaboration of various sectors outside health due to the multidimensional nature of healthcare. Building effective partnerships demands the use of intersectoral mechanisms that facilitate the leadership and implementation of these programs. In this review, the mechanisms of intersectoral collaboration (ISC) and their results were identified.

This scoping review was conducted in 2020. Using relevant keywords, all documents related to ISC in the health system were identified by searching four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Web of Science), Google, and Google scholar search engines. In the initial search, 2911 documents were extracted. Based on the selection criteria 52 documents were selected for content analysis.

Five areas of ISC were identified, including funding (collection, pooling, and distribution of funds), governance and leadership (political commitment, rules and regulations, control and evaluation, and stakeholder engagement), structural mechanisms (interorganizational, government-based, and program-based structures), process tools (information tools, support tools, and resource and service sharing), and models and frameworks (general, national, and program-specific models).

An intersectoral framework or model be developed that considers the financial, structural, and leadership aspects as well as the necessary process tools required for each program. Moreover, it should be considered communication and human resources empowerment in each intervention.

Widespread use of screening in high-income countries has led to significant reductions in mortality from cervical cancer. However, in Iran, the main reason for the late diagnosis of cervical cancer was the failure to perform a Pap smear (Papanicolaou).  We aimed to investigate the status of cervical cancer prevention and its challenges and solutions in Iran.

We conducted a systematic review of literature published from 1974 to 2021 in the electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar, and retrieved all English-language articles. Following the application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, full-text articles were identified and evaluated for eligibility. Finally, these publications were analyzed as part of the synthesis.

Lower social-economic level, inadequate knowledge of screening tests and health centers for Pap test performance leading to worse outcomes such as lower screening participation or coverage.

By addressing these challenges through increasing education, increasing service accessibility, expanding screening programs, improving public awareness, improving insurance coverage, and establishing a control protocol for follow-up, it is possible to reduce cervical cancer incidence and mortality.

In the context of home care being valued by the Chinese government and the increasing number of disabled older adults, it is of great significance to explore the effect of home care poverty of the older adults on their ability to perform activities of daily living.

A research sample of 2583 older adults from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey data in 2018 was adopted. There were 422 participants in the treatment group and 2161 participants in the control group. According to the framework of counterfactual analysis, the kernel matching method was used to match the treatment and control groups to calculate the values of average treatment effects on treated (ATT).

The results of the kernel matching method showed that the factual ADL score of the treatment group was 6.886, the counterfactual ADL score of the control group was 8.520, and the ATT value was -1.634 (P<0.05). There were gender and urban-rural differences in the relationship between home care poverty and activities of daily living among older people. In gender samples, there was a significant correlation between the two, and the absolute value of ATT in male samples was higher than that in female samples (P<0.05). In the rural samples, there was a significant correlation between the two variables (P<0.05). But in the urban samples, there was no significant correlation between the two variables.

Home care poverty could significantly reduce the ability to perform activities of daily living among older adults in China. Based on the conclusions, the study puts forward several suggestions to solve the home care poverty for the older adults in China.

With the popularization of the Internet and smartphones, smartphone addiction among college students is becoming increasingly common, causing the problems of their learning engagement, anxiety, and depression. The study aimed to analyze the relationships of smartphone addiction, learning engagement, anxiety and depression among Chinese college students.

Based on the Self-Determination Theory, in January 2023, 780 college students from 6 universities in Heilongjiang Province in China were selected as examples for the study. Internet Addiction Test, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student, Chinese version of Beck Depression Inventory-II, and Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory were employed to measure smartphone use, learning engagement, depression, and anxiety among college students. Pearson correlation and multiple logistic regressions were also used.

Smartphone use was negatively correlated with learning engagement (r = -0.097, P < 0.001), whereas it was positively correlated with depression (r = 0.184) and anxiety (r = 0.18, P < 0.001). Significant differences were observed in learning engagement and depression and anxiety symptoms in different degrees of smartphone use. Taking severe smartphone addiction as a comparison standard, depression and anxiety symptoms had a significant influence on different levels of smartphone use, whereas learning engagement did not have a significant influence on different smartphone use levels.

The intervention and prevention of college students’ smartphone addiction can improve their learning engagement, relieve their anxiety and depression, and enhance their mental health level.

This study aimed to identify the factors associated with suicidal ideation by classifying adolescents into three groups: no stress, interpersonal stress, as well as academic and career stress.

Using the data from the 16th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey (2020), 15,343 adolescents were included in the study, and their socio-demographic characteristics as well as physical and psychological factors were assessed. A complex sample logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with suicide.

The following factors were significantly associated with suicide: fatigue recovery by sleep, body mass index, physical activity, and depression in the no stress group; current school, academic grade, drinking, depression, loneliness, and anxiety in the interpersonal stress group; and gender, current school, academic grade, father’s educational level, drinking, fatigue recovery by sleep, depression, loneliness, subjective health, smartphone overdependence, as well as anxiety in the academic and career stress group.

To prevent suicide among adolescents, it is necessary to consider these factors when developing educational policies.

We aimed to study the relationship between the use of pesticides and the health risks faced by Chinese water chestnut farmers in this country.

This cross-sectional survey was conducted among 425 farmers in Sriprachan district, Suphanburi Province, Thailand in 2021. Samples were recruited using the cluster sampling method, and data collection took place through questionnaires. The questionnaire consisted of 3 parts, 76 items, namely personal information of farmers (12 items checklist), the use of pesticides by chemical risk assessment was a 5-point rating scale (40 items), and health risk assessment exposure to pesticides was a 5-point rating scale (24 items). The content validity index for scale (S-CVI) was 0.963 and the reliability with Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.904. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square, relative risk, and 95% CI.

The overall pesticide use among farmers was at a moderate level (Mean=3.26, SD=0.60). Farmers’ signs and symptoms of exposure were compared to their use of pesticides. The pesticide use increased health risks by 15.57 (95% CI: 12.33 to 18.14). Hazard identification was 10.79 higher (95% CI: 8.19 to 13.40). Dose-response assessment was -16.23 higher (95% CI: -17.63 to -14.82). Exposure assessment was 11.49 higher (95% CI: 9.87 to 13.10) and the risk characteristic was -7.46 (95% CI: -8.49 to -6.44). It was statistically significant at <.001.

Careless and incorrect use of pesticides by Chinese water chestnut farmers can lead to health risks from exposure to toxic substances.

We aimed to investigate the correlation and clinical significance between a group of serum biomarkers and brain damage caused by neonatal asphyxia, and to provide sensitive and effective detection methods for early diagnosis and prognosis improvement.

We enrolled neonates hospitalized in the neonatal department of The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University of China from June 2020 to June 2021 as the study subjects. The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), S100 protein, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in serum samples were measured using electrochemiluminescence (ECL), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or rate method and the correlations between these serum biomarkers and the degree of neonatal asphyxia and brain damage were statistically analyzed using Spearman test.

The levels of serum IL-6, LDH, S100, NSE, and GFAP in the neonatal asphyxia with brain damage group within 12 hours after birth were significantly higher than those in the neonatal asphyxia without brain damage group (all P<0.05). Additionally, these levels were positively correlated with the degree of asphyxia. The Area Under the Curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of IL-6 (0.8819), LDH (0.8108), S100 (0.8719), NSE (0.8719), and GFAP (0.8073) were revealed.

The combined detection of serum marker levels can simultaneously reflect neuronal injury, glial cell injury, and inflammatory injury, improve the accuracy of diagnosis of neonatal asphyxia with brain damage, and enable the formulation of treatment strategies as early as possible to reduce the incidence of complications of brain damage.

There is a complex relationship between body mass index (BMI) and body weight perception. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between BMI and body weight perception among middle-aged children.

This study was cross-sectional, and conducted among 333 children (9-11 yr) from the largest public school in Istanbul, Turkey between Oct 2019 and Jan 2020. BMI was calculated as weight divided by height squared (kg/m2). Body weight perception was determined using a photograph figure rating scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0.

Overall, 325 children (mean age 10.01 ± 0.99 yr) completed the study. According to the BMI classification, 8.6% of children were severely underweight, 4.9% underweight, 68.0% normal weight, 8.3% overweight, and 10.2% obese. However, 38.8% of the children perceived themselves as overweight, 21.2% as underweight, 20.3% as normal, 10.3% as overweight, and 9.4% as obese. 59.1% of children underestimated their current body weight. On the other hand, 14.2% of children overestimated their current body weight. There were statistical differences between body weight perception and BMI (P<0.001).

There was a discrepancy between body weight perception and BMI among middle-aged children. More than half of the children tend to underestimate their actual body weight. Therefore, evaluating the nutritional status of children and learning which body type children perceive can guide the preparation of individual nutrition programs.

Sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy (SIC) is a common complication of sepsis accompanied by high prevalence and mortality in sepsis patients. Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) is a neurotrophic factor, and it exerts critical functions in various diseases, including heart diseases, while its effect on SIC remains elusive. Hence, we aimed to investigate the action of MANF on SIC.

This study was under the guidance of Gongli Hospital, Shanghai, China from January 2021 to December 2021. H9c2 cells and mice were induced by LPS to establish SIC in vitro and in vivo models. qRT-PCR and Western blot were used to determine gene and protein expressions. The levels of MANF, Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), Interleukin 18 (IL-18), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), and cardiac troponin I (cTn I) were detected using ELISA assay. Cell pyroptosis determination was performed by flow cytometry. The DCFDA assay kit was used to determine ROS production.

In SIC in vitro model, LPS induced cell pyroptosis (P<0.001) and ROS accumulation (P<0.001). Besides, MANF was decreased in LPS-induced H9c2 cells (P<0.001) and SIC patients (P<0.001). In addition, overexpression of MANF ameliorated SIC-induced injury in H9C2 cells (P<0.001). Furthermore, inhibition of NLRP3 rescued the function of MANF on SIC-induced injury in H9C2 cells (P<0.001). Moreover, enforced MANF suppressed the SIC-induced injury in vivo model (P<0.001).

MANF was down-regulated in SIC. Overexpressed MANF ameliorated the SIC injury by inhibiting NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis.

We aimed to explore the expression of high mobility group box-1 (HMG1) in the peripheral blood of systemic vasculitis (SV) patients.

The peripheral blood were collected from 35 healthy controls and 35 SV patients, and the expressions of HMGB1 and pyroptosis-related markers in the samples were detected by ELISA. They were admitted to the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Qiqihar Medical University, China in 2022. The severity of diseases was graded according to the diagnosis and treatment norms of SV. The correlation between HMGB1 expression level and disease-related indicators and grades were explored through Pearson correlation analysis. The specific mechanism of HMGB1 mediating the occurrence and development of diseases through the regulation of endothelial pyroptosis was clarified.

HMGB1 expression significantly increased in the peripheral blood of SV patients compared with healthy controls (P<0.0001). Pearson correlation analysis indicated that HMGB1 expression level in serum gradually increased with the aggravation in SV patients. The expression levels of ASC (P<0.0001), IL-1β (P=0.004) and IL-18 (P<0.0001) in peripheral blood of SV patients were significantly increased, which were significantly positively correlated with HMGB1 in peripheral blood (P<0.0001). Recombinant HMGB1 significantly promoted the expression of ASC, IL-1β and IL-18 in vascular endothelial cells. Recombinant HMGB1 stimulation significantly activated NLRP3 inflammasome, and the additional addition of NLRP3 inhibitor significantly inhibited HMGB1-mediated endothelial pyroptosis.

HMGB1 expression was significantly high in the peripheral blood of SV patients, which was positively correlated with the severity of diseases. HMGB1 could mediate pyroptosis through activating TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway.

Domestic violence is a global public health concern as stated by World Health Organization. We aimed to conduct a textual analysis of tweets associated with domestic violence through keyword identification, word trends and word collocations. The data was obtained from Twitter, focusing on publicly available tweets written in English.  The objectives are to find out if the identified keywords, word trends and word collocations can help differentiate between domestic violence-related tweets and non-domestic violence-related tweets, as well as, to analyze the textual characteristics of domestic violence-related tweets and non-domestic violence-related tweets.

Overall, 11,041 tweets were collected using a few keywords over a period of 15 days from 22 March 2021 to 5 April 2021. A text analysis approach was used to discover the most frequent keywords used, the word trends of those keywords and the word collocations of the keywords in differentiating between domestic violence-related or non-domestic violence-related tweets.

Domestic violence-related tweets and non-domestic violence-related tweets had differentiating characteristics, despite sharing several main keywords. In particular, keywords like “domestic”, “violence” and “suicide” featured prominently in domestic-violence related tweets but not in non-domestic violence-related tweets. Significant differences could also be seen in the frequency of keywords and the word trends in the collection of the tweets.

These findings are significant in helping to automate the flagging of domestic-violence related tweets and alert the authorities so that they can take proactive steps such as assisting the victims in getting medical, police and legal help as needed.

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in Gynecology, whose treatment was seriously limited by the unclear understanding of molecular mechanism in disease development. LncRNA FGFR3-AS1 is involved in human cancers. In this study, we aimed to clarify its regulatory effect on ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cell model was used in 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide (MTT) assay and flow cytometry for investigating the role of LncRNA FGFR3-AS1 in ovarian cancer. Western blot detection (CCND1、CDK6、MAPK9 and PIK3CA) tumor regulatory proteins. The study was conducted between March 2020 and October 2022 at General Hospital of Fushun Mining Bureau of Liaoning Health Industry Group, China.

The results demonstrated the upregulation of LncRNA FGFR3-AS1 in ovarian cancer, whose expression was positively related to tumor grade and AJCC stage, and negatively correlated with patients’ prognosis. LncRNA FGFR3-AS1 promoted ovarian cancer development through promoting cell growth and inhibiting cell apoptosis. PI3K signaling pathway-related proteins may be implicated in the LncRNA FGFR3-AS1 induced regulation of ovarian cancer.

LncRNA FGFR3-AS1 was involved in the development of ovarian cancer, which has the potential to become therapeutic target and prognostic indicator in ovarian cancer treatment.

We aimed to analyze the relationship between physical activity and the factors related to the weight management of bariatric surgery patients.

This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 87 participants, who underwent bariatric surgery in Cyprus between May and Oct 2020. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire and a questionnaire on socio-demographic and obesity characteristics were used to collect data.

Mean age of the participants was 34.7±8.43 and 65.5% were female. A statistically significant difference was found between physical activity levels and weight loss (P=0.021). Post-bariatric surgery physical activity level was low active for 65.5% of the participants. There was a statistically significant difference between the MET scores of the participants according to their gender, and the scores of men were higher than women (2256.9; 1110.9 respectively). Although most of the participants in the study were females, women lost less weight than males (45.5; 54.2 respectively).

Being female, married, and having chronic diseases caused less weight loss after bariatric surgery. As the physical activity levels of the patients increased, their weight loss increased. In line with these results, people undergone bariatric surgery and are at risk of regaining weight should be followed closely after surgery and appropriate physical activities should be planned.

The transmembrane protein (TMEM) family plays important roles in cancer. However, the expression pattern and biological roles of TMEM178, a member of TMEM family, remains unclear in breast cancer (BRCA).

Methylation and RNA-seq data were obtained to explore methylation level. Expression of TMEM178, methylation inhibitor 5-Aza-CdR was used to verify the effect of methylation status on the expression of TMEM178. We comprehensively investigated the prognostic outcomes, biological functions and effects on immune cell infiltration of the TMEM178 in BRCA using multiple bioinformatics methods.

The expression of TMEM178 was downregulated and negatively correlated with the level of DNA methylation and DNA methyltransferase (DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B) in BRCA. Consistently, TMEM178 mRNA were confirmed to be downregulated, while upregulated in response to treatment with methylation inhibitor 5-Aza-CdR by RT-qPCR. Patients with high expression of TMEM178 have better prognosis and are more sensitive to targeted drug Pazopanib. Immune infiltration analysis showed that the infiltration levels of CD4+ T cell subsets were reduced in BRAC tissues with high TMEM178 expression, and immunosuppressive molecules of T-cell exhaustion were lower expression level.

Hypermethylation of the TMEM178 promoter region was a contributing factor to the downregulation of its expression, and TMEM178 may reflect a prognostic and immunosuppressive situation in BRCA.

A green sample preparation method named deep eutectic solvent-based single drop microextraction (DES-SDME) was developed and optimized for determining trace metribuzin, dichlorvos, and fenthion.

Two hundred seventy experimental runs were performed, and the optimal values of the five influential factors in the DES-SDME method were determined. The design of the study was based on one factor at a time and the peak area of high-performance liquid chromatography was used as a benchmark for comparing analysis results.

After optimizing the effective factors, the linearity range, detection limit and quantification limit of the method were determined by drawing calibration curves for the studied analytes.

The results indicated the success of the developed method in obtaining acceptable figures of merit as a green preparation method with accuracy and precision.

Sustainable development goals' (SDGs) analysis can be caused a better understanding of factors contributing to access to health services and help shape policies to attain health goals. This review aimed to measure and compare the SDGs between Iran and selected categories.

This study was a comparative cross-sectional study. We identified indicators of health status based on the SDGs report 2019. The status of SDGs indicators was compared in Iran to four categories, including selected countries with similar social, economic, and health status, six regions of the WHO, the average of each income level group. SPSS 20 and Excel 2019 software were used for descriptive data analysis.

The average life expectancy and healthy life expectancy were 75.7 years and 65.4 respectively in Iran. Iran's mortality rate in indicators named road traffic (32.1 per 100000 population), suicide (4.1 per 100000 population), and unintentional poisoning (1.2 per 100000 population) were higher than most of the categories. Iran's status in morbidity indicators had an approximately lower rate than all categories. Iran had full coverage in three immunization indicators like DTP3 immunization, MCV2 immunization, and PCV3 immunization, which was higher than all categories. Coverage of UHC in Iran (65%) was near to the global average (64%) and higher than the eastern Mediterranean Region (53%). Moreover, the prevalence of tobacco smoking (10.95%) and alcohol consumption (1%) were lower than global (6.4%) and the WHO regions (1.8%) average.

Health status measurement is a trend that requires the collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination of data by a set of indicators. There are several weaknesses in reported data in the SDGs for some indicators, the data collection process should be noticed seriously by policymakers.

Cross-cultural studies can provide information on how different cultural contexts, lifestyles, and physical activity play a role in the development of motor skills. We aimed at a cross-cultural comparison of fundamental movement skills of children of Iranian ethnicities.

The statistical population included boys and girls aged 7 to 9 years from the centers of Tehran (Persian), Lorestan (Lor), Khuzestan (Arab) and Kurdistan (Kurdish) provinces in 2021 year. Overall, 240 people (60 from each province) participated in this research as a sample. Ulric Gross Motor development test (2000) was used to measure the Fundamental Movement skills.

Results of multivariate analysis of variance showed that the main effect of culture (ethnicity) and interaction of culture and gender on Loco motor and object control skills were significant (P=0/001). In the total score of fundamental movement skills, the results showed that boys children scored significantly higher than girls (P=0/001). Moreover, Lor and Kurdish children significantly performed better than Fars and Arab children (P=0/001), but no significant difference was observed between the other ethnicities (P=0/452).

Differences in the levels of fundamental movement skills of children of different ethnicities may be due to different physical and cultural activities, attitudes, and motor habits.

Mucormycosis is an aggressive opportunistic fungal infection that afflicts patients with severe underlying immunosuppression, uncontrolled hyperglycemia and/or ketoacidosis, iron overload, and occasionally healthy patients who are inoculated with fungal spores through traumatic injuries. The epidemiology of mucormycosis has changed after the COVID-19 pandemic, with mucormycosis becoming the most common and the fatal coinfection

In a retrospective, cross-sectional study, 82 hospitalized patients with a definite diagnosis of mucormycosis were reported from 2007 to 2021 in a referral, tertiary care center in Tehran, Iran

The number of post-COVID cases increased 4.6 times per year, with 41.5% of patients admitted during the two years of the pandemic. Mucormycosis was more common in women (57.3%), and the most common underlying diseases were diabetes (43.7%), both COVID-19 and diabetes (23.2%), cancer (11%), rheumatic diseases (7.3%), COVID-19 without other underlying diseases (6.1%), and transplantation (4.9%). Rhino-orbito-cerebral Mucormycosis (54.9%) followed by Sino-orbital infection (23.2%) was the most common presentation. There was a significant relationship between the use of immunosuppressive agents and the development of Mucormycosis (P<0.005) The average mortality was 41.5%, but this ratio decreased to 35% during the pandemic era.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a 4.6-fold increase in the number of mucormycosis patients, and there was a significant relationship between hyperglycemia, corticosteroid use, and mucormycosis. The death rate during the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased by 6.5%, and during the COVID period, the interval between the arrival of a patient with mucormycosis and the start of the correct treatment was significantly decreased.