International Journal of Preventive Medicine
Volume:2 Issue: 1, Jan 2011

The global increase of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence requires intensified efforts for early detection and prevention. Increased central (abdominal) adiposity has a special importance because of increased risk of cardio-metabolic diseases. [2]. Waist circumference (WC) is the best simple index of fat distribution, since it was least affected by gender, race, and overall adiposity [3]. WC correlates with intra-abdominal and subcutaneous fat measured by magnetic resonance imaging in youths [4]. Increased WC is one of the five diagnostic items of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) which is essential for the definition of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in terms of increased WC plus 2 out of the followings; elevated fasting plasma glucose, hypertension, elevated triglycerides and low HDL-C [5].

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common serious bacterial infection in early life. Appropriate diagnosis and treatment prevent complications such as hypertension, proteinuria and end stage renal disease. A computerized search of MEDLINE, Embase and other databases was done to find the latest results about the treatment and prevention in pediatric UTI. Randomized control trials, systematic reviews and original articles were assessed. Search terms were “UTI, treatment, prophylaxis, prevention and children”.All children with complicated or simple UTI were included in our search study from neonatal period to late childhood and medical aspects of treatment were reviewed. Recently, treatment approaches have been changed by simplification of drug administration.Oral treatment is usually recommended especially in older infants and children instead of strict intravenous treatmentand patient admission. In addition, prophylactic treatment becomes easier and limited to certain cases. In this article, we review the recent information and approaches in this setting.

The HIV/AIDS (Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) epidemic is in its third decade and has reached to alarming proportions worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one million people are living with HIV with an estimated 56,300 infections happening each year in the United States. Diagnosis of HIV/AIDS via early testing along with pretest and post-test counseling is important for psychosocial stabilization and destigmatization.Risk reduction counseling as a preventive counseling method is equally important in high-risk individuals such as adolescents, substance abusers and in gay and bisexual population. The purpose of this manuscript is to address a number of counseling strategies used for education and counseling of individuals at risk of getting HIV/AIDS and also among those who are HIV infected. Some of the various dimensions of counseling are negative approach counseling, assessing readiness to change, and motivational enhancement therapy. Multiple approaches are used by counselors in providing education and prevention counseling to ‘at risk’ individuals and also individuals who have been infected with the virus.

Increased central adiposity is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in youths. Since simple and inexpensive but accurate diagnostic tools are required for general use we examined body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and skin-fold thickness (SFT) for their utility predicting CVD risk factors in children. A representative sample of 3850 children (1981 males) aged 3-11yearsparticipated in this cross-sectional study. The association of CVD risk factors with BMI>85th, WC>90th, WHtR >90th and SFT>90th percentile was examined by multivariate logistic regression models. SPSS 17 was used for statistical analyses; p < 0.05 was used for significance.Results In children the prevalence of general adiposity (4.1%) was considerably lower than the prevalence of central adiposity (WC 11.8%, WHtR 9.5% and SFT sum 9.8%). Girls had more adverse lipid profiles and CVD risk factors than boys. Age- and gender adjusted hypertension was significantly associated with adiposity (OR 2.8) and increased skin-fold thickness (OR 1.7). Among the four fat patterning variables WHtR >90th percentile was the strongest predictor of increased LDL-C (OR 2.0), Non HDL-C (OR 2.1), LDL-C/HDL-C ratio (OR 3.3), TG/HDL-C ratio (OR 2.0) and risk factor clustering (OR 1.7). High waist-to-height ratio is the strongest predictor of traditional cardiovascular risk factors already in childhood, followed by increased skin-fold thickness and body mass index.

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of high-intensity intermittent exercise and carbohydrate supplementation on cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) in soccer players. Twelve elite soccer players were selected and divided equally into three groups of carbohydrate (CHO), placebo (P) and control (C). Blood samples were taken in six phases and were analyzed with the chemiluminescence method. Results showed that three bouts of 90-min exercise along with carbohydrate supplementation do not have any significant effect on the level of cTnI indices. However, there was a significant difference in CK-MB values after the second and third sessions compared with the first day (P<0.05). In conclusion, exercises with less duration and intensity like soccer do not seem to be effective on the markers. When the overall intensity of exercise was moderate it appeared that carbohydrate supplementation had less effect on the alteration of biochemical markers of the myocardial muscle.

Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) with the prevalence of about 2-3 percent among different populations is a cause of cirrhosis. Detecting preventable causes in Iranian population could be useful in decreasing the disease and its complications. This study assessed the prevalence of NASH in adult population living in Isfahan city as a sample of Iranian population. Blood samples of 2030 individuals referring to Dr. Shariati Hospital for routine health check-up were collected. All individuals with high liver enzymes [aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and/or Alanine aminotranferease (ALT)] included in the study. Known causes of altered liver enzymes by doing specific biomedical laboratory tests and tacking the history were excluded. For the rest of the cases, second blood samples were obtained 6 months later and any cases with persistent enzyme elevation were surveyed with ultrasound. In the first survey, 234 individuals (11.5 %) had ALT level of more than 40 U/L. By rechecking samples after 6 months, 50% of all high serum ALT individuals remained at high level. After conducting complementary biochemical tests, 3.3% of the population was considered to have NASH. 20% of NASH cases had not any abnormal findings in ultrasound. Hypercholesterolemia was the most co-existing risk factor in NASH cases. We found a reverse correlation between ALT level and age (P = 0.02). The prevalence of NASH was comparable with other countries. According to the meaningful correlation between ALT level and age, preventive interactions in younger individuals would decrease the incidence of NASH.

Introduction & An estimated 70% of men aged 61-70 years and 90% of those aged 81-90 have pathological benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Almost 20% of patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) associated with BPH might also have symptoms of prostatitis. But the inter-relationship between BPH and prostatic inflammation, and how one can influence the other, is under controversy. The aim of our study was determining whether the incidence of prostatic inflammation was significantly different in patients presented with acute urinary retention (AUR) than in those presented with LUTS.Patients & This is a cross-sectional study which carried out in a hospital at Guilan, the northern province of Iran. 280 patients undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) or open prostatectomy between 1999 and 2002 were subjects of the study. Histopathologic samples of prostate were examined for existence of (acute and/or chronic intraprostatic inflammation) ACI. 150 patients (53.6%) undertook surgery because of AUR and 130 patients (46.4%) because of LUTS. Among them, 130 patients (46.4%) showed ACI in the pathologic examinations whereas 150 patients (53.6%) did not. The patients with AUR were significantly older than those with LUTS (P = 0.001). ACI was significantly associated with AUR (P = 0.016). The mean (SD) prostate weight was significantly higher in AUR group compared to that in the LUTS group. Also those patients who showed ACI according to pathologic examinations had heavier prostates than those who did not. The main finding of the present study is that ACI may be associated with some degree of urinary obstruction and AUR.

The world population will likely increase by 2.5 billion over the next 43 years, passing from the current 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion in 2050. Only limited information about the contraceptive practices especially modern contraceptive use is available. The aim of study is to determine the prevalence and factors associated with use of modern contraceptive methods. A cross sectional study of 288 females selected through consecutive sampling was conducted in Jinnah Post graduate Medical Centre family reproductive health care center Karachi, Pakistan from November 2008 to January 2009. Females of reproductive age 16-50 years using any contraceptive measures and giving informed consent were included. Those who with severe debilitating disease, having any physical and mental disability were excluded. Two trained co researchers interviewed the participants for socio demographic reasons. The main outcome variables of the study were modern and traditional contraceptives and factors associated with the modern contraceptive methods. The results showed mean age was 29.49 (±6.42). The contraceptive methods used were 216 (75%) use modern and 72 (25%) traditional. Final multiple logistic regression showed age>30 years [AOR, 0.426 95% CI0.209-0.865], addiction [AOR, 0.381 95% CI0.173-0.839], and means of information like family planning worker (FPW) [AOR, 6.315 95% CI 3.057-13.046], Television (TV) [AOR, 0.402 95% CI 0.165-0.979] and billboard (BB) [AOR, 0.207 95% CI 0.066-0.447] Modern contraceptive methods are very common in our region (75%). The main factors associated include addiction and age>30 years. The important means of information is only FPW.

Association football (soccer) is certainly one of the most popular sports worldwide. It has been reported that more than 200,000 professional and 240 million amateur players, play football 1. Compared with other sports, football is a vigorous sporting activity with relatively high incidence of injury2,3,4,5. To decrease the number of injuries, prevent early retirement and provide a healthy and safe environment for players, preventive programs are highly recommended. For designing preventive programs, information about the incidence and risk of injury are required

Some Prevention Activities in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences

The present study was designed to evaluate surgeon's strategies and adherence to preventive measures against surgical site infections (SSIs). All surgeons participating in a prospective Swiss multicentric surveillance program for SSIs received a questionnaire developed from the 2008 National (United Kingdom) Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines on prevention and treatment of SSIs. We focused on perioperative management and surgical technique in hernia surgery, cholecystectomy, appendectomy, and colon surgery (COL). Forty-five of 50 surgeons contacted (90%) responded. Smoking cessation and nutritional screening are regularly propagated by 1/3 and 1/2 of surgeons, respectively. Thirty-eight percent practice bowel preparation before COL. Preoperative hair removal is routinely (90%) performed in the operating room with electric clippers. About 50% administer antibiotic prophylaxis within 30 min before incision. Intra-abdominal drains are common after COL (43%). Two thirds of respondents apply nonocclusive wound dressings that are manipulated after hand disinfection (87%). Dressings are usually changed on postoperative day (POD) 2 (75%), and wounds remain undressed on POD 2-3 or 4-5 (36% each). Surgeon's strategies to prevent SSIs still differ widely. The adherence to the current NICE guidelines is low for many procedures regardless of the available level of evidence. Further research should provide convincing data in order to justify standardization of perioperative management.