نشریه دانشگاه علوم پزشکی خراسان شمالی
سال دوم شماره 4 (زمستان 1389)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases in young adults and like any other chronic disease it affects different aspects and quality of the patient's life. This study was designed to measure the quality of life in multiple sclerosis patients referring to M.S Clinic in Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad during 2009. In this descriptive study, the community of research included 62 patients with multiple sclerosis referring to the M.S Clinic. The research tools included questionnaires of demographic information for patients and multiple sclerosis quality of life (MSQOL-54) questionnaires. Clinical manifestations and the severity of the disease were evaluated through taking medical histories as well as physical examination taken by a neurologist using EDSS criteria. The results showed that 81% of the patients were females and 19% were males, 75% of the MS patients were married and 25% were single. Mean EDSS score was 2.3. The age range was 18-50 years (mean age 33.27 ± 8.31). The average quality of life score in 12 domains of MSQOL-54 was 56.2. The lowest score for quality of life was related to the restriction of physical health domains. The severity of disabity was significantly associated with quality of physical health domain (P<0.05). But the EDSS was not related with the mental health score (P>0.05). Our study clearly demonstrates that the disability status has an impact mainly on physical domains of life quality. In this study, the quality of life was relatively good in all aspects. This may be due to the mildness of the disease in the majority of the patients and/or the short duration of the disease.

One of the serious challenges in human societies is the pandemy of AIDS; therefore, raising people’s awareness of AIDS may be an effective preventive measure against this disease. The aim of the present research was to compare the two teaching methods of lecturing and the provision of pamphlets on the knowledge and attitude of high school students in the city of Mane & Semelghan with regard to AIDS. The study was performed in 2010. This is a Quasi-experimental study that was conducted on 394 students. Subjects were divided into three groups of control, pamphlet and lecture through sampling methods of multi stages. The students’ knowledge and attitude were measured before and after intervention. Data was collected through questionnaires and was analysed by SPSS 16. The statistical methods of Paired t-test and Analysis of Variance was used to analyze the data. Findings showed no significant difference between the three groups in knowledge and attitude before intervention. On the other hand, after the intervention there was a significant difference between the three groups (P <0.001 & p=0.01 for knowledge and attitude respectively). The pamphlet method had no significant effect on knowledge (P =0.36) and attitude (P =0.16) of the students, while teaching by lecture had a significant positive effect on student's knowledge and attitude (P<0.001). the data of this study show that the use of lectures as an educational method is more effective than the pamphlet method for improving knowledge and attitiude in students.

Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common nutritional disorder with known complications throughout the world, especially in developing countries. The prevalence of IDA is different in various regions and its status has not been evaluated in North Khorasan province. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of IDA and its related factors in infants aged 6-24 months admitted in the pediatric ward for different diseases. This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytic study was performed on 181 subjects chosen by non-random sampling method from hospitalized children aged 6 to 24 months during a 3-month period (April- June 2009). Laboratory tests such as Hb, HCT, Fe, TIBC and Occult blood were assessed to distinguish children with and without IDA. Demographic characteristics of children and their IDA related factors gathered by completing a check list during interviews with infants’ mothers. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney and Chi-square tests; the differences were considred to be significant when P<0.05. Data Analysis illustrated that the prevalence of IDA in hospitalized infants was 31.5%. Furthermore, the study showed a significant difference in the mother's age, sex of children, and consumption of fish among IDA and non-IDA infants. No significant relationship was observed between age, consumption of ferrous salts, present weight and weight at birth and frequency of admission to hospital before the present illness with IDA. Although consumption of ferrous salts is an important factor in the prevention of IDA, widespread iron supplementation alone is likely to have only a limited impact on the overall prevalence of this condition. Multiple factors such as mother's age, sex of infant, and consumption of fish may be involved in IDA. Therefore, medical staff should give more consideration to IDA and its impact on the health of infants

Malnutrition may cause many disturbances in any age, especially in children, thus, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of malnutrition in students of elementary schools in Larestan city. The present cross sectional–descriptive Study was performed on 876 students from primary schools in the city of Larestan. Students were selected by multistage method. Different parameters including weight for age (W/A), height for age (H/A) and weight for height (W/H) were calculated and compared to National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) standards. Students’ height and weight were measured using standard apparatus. The software Epi-info and SPSS was used for analysis. Descriptive statistics and Chi- square tests were used to compare the results. The prevalence of severe malnutrition, with weight for age, height for age and weight for height were7.30%, 6.05% and 9.81% respectively. The weight for age and weight for height malnutrition was more prevalent in girls than in boys (P <0.05). The prevalence of malnutrition in students from elementary schools in Larestan city is high. The underlying causes of malnutrition should be identified and programs for the solution of the problem designed.

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite. Toxoplasma infection is largely asymptomatic, but in immune-deficient patients, such as patients under chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients and individuals with cancer and AIDS the parasite can become widely disseminated, causing severe toxoplasmosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii IgM and IgG in kidney transplant patients in Urmia. Blood samples were collected from subjects who had received renal transplant in Urmia Emam Khomini Hospital renal transplantation center and were referred to control their health in the out-patients nephrology clinic from December 2009 to August 2010. The results show that 36 (43.3%) patients including 11 males and 25 females out of the 83 patients were positive for Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies. Only 4(4.8%) women were positive for IgM antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii and all men were negative for this antibody. Both IgG and IgM antibodies were simultaneously positive in the four female patients. No significant correlations were found between seropositive subjects and close contact with cats or consumption of raw or undercooked meat after transplantation. Moreover, there was no significant relationship between T.gondii seroprevalence with the effect of haemodialysis before transplantation or living regions (urban or rural) or literacy. This study shows a relatively high prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in kidney transplant patients. According to the results, it seems that climate and geographical condition, lack of adequate training and knowledge of postoperative care play important roles in this infection. Regular screening to determine antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in these patients is essential after surgery.

It is important to pay attention to mental health in all aspects of one’s life, both in one’s personal and social life, as well as in one’s career. Neglecting the issue of mental health may result in a decrease in the efficiency and loss of human resources. It can also cause physical and mental disorders. The present research aimed to study the mental health status in Shahid Rajaei Teaching Hospital in Qazvin. Four aspects of mental health including physical, social function, anxiety and depression were studied. This research is a descriptive, cross- sectional study which was carried out from September to October 2008. The research population comprised all the employees in Shahid Rajaei Teaching Hospital and the sample comprised of 70 employees selected through randomized- stratified method. GHQ28 questionnaire was used for data collection and the analysis was done by SPSS software, using Anova and t-tests. Our findings showed disturbances in all aspects of studied mental health status. Physical health and social functions were disturbed in 5.7 and 2.8% of subjects respectively. Anxiety was present in 11.4% and depression was evident in 1.4% of subjects. No correlation was found between mental disorders and variables such as age, gender, marital status, job status, education and number of children. According to these data an average prevalence of mental disorders is present among the personnel in Shahid Rajae Teaching Hospital which demand more attention by the authorities to improve the situation.

It is important to pay attention to mental health in all aspects of one’s life, both in one’s personal and social life, as well as in one’s career. Neglecting the issue of mental health may result in a decrease in the efficiency and loss of human resources. It can also cause physical and mental disorders. The present research aimed to study the mental health status in Shahid Rajaei Teaching Hospital in Qazvin. Four aspects of mental health including physical, social function, anxiety and depression were studied. This research is a descriptive, cross- sectional study which was carried out from September to October 2008. The research population comprised all the employees in Shahid Rajaei Teaching Hospital and the sample comprised of 70 employees selected through randomized- stratified method. GHQ28 questionnaire was used for data collection and the analysis was done by SPSS software, using Anova and t-tests. Our findings showed disturbances in all aspects of studied mental health status. Physical health and social functions were disturbed in 5.7 and 2.8% of subjects respectively. Anxiety was present in 11.4% and depression was evident in 1.4% of subjects. No correlation was found between mental disorders and variables such as age, gender, marital status, job status, education and number of children. According to these data an average prevalence of mental disorders is present among the personnel in Shahid Rajae Teaching Hospital which demand more attention by the authorities to improve the situation.

Dust storms are an atmospheric phenomenon with adverse effects on the environment. These storms can have detrimental effects on the economy and health of societies and create climate changes. Understanding the nature, origin, and effects of dust storms is important in determining their appropriate mitigation measures. In this review article, factors causing the occurrence of dust storms and their effects on the environment, health, and economy as well as methods for locating and controlling them are discussed. This review article was conducted on various aspects of dust storms using internet sources and doing library search. Key words like Dust storm, environmental impacts, health, and air pollution were used to search for articles and publications in various databases such as Science Direct, Google Scholar, Springer, Magiran, and Iran Medex between 1995 and 2011. In total, 200 articles were collected, 59 of which were chosen based on their relevance. Dust particles ascend as high as 6 kilometers and spread to 6000 kilometers across the surface, which reduces the horizontal vision to 103 to 104 meters. Atmospheric dust blocks the sun light and decreases agricultural produce by 3% to 30% and can also cause diseases including meningitis, Rift Valley fever, asthma and viral diseases. It can also cause damage to the DNA of skin and lung cells. An increase of 10 micrograms per cubic meter in the concentration of particles smaller than 10 microns (PM10) at the time of the dust phenomenon can increase mortality rate in humans by 1 percent.

Self discharge against medical advice is a challenge facing health systems in the world. Since children play no role in deciding for self-discharge against medical advice, this study aimed at determining the rate and causes of discharge against medical advice. This is a descriptive, cross sectional chart review study without sampling. To determine the relationship between variables the x2 statistics were used. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and the value of P<0.05 was considered significant. Results showed the rate of discharge against medical advices to be (2.2%) (108).The children’s median age was 2 and their length of stay in hospital 2 days. A total of 95 patients (88.7%) had insurance. Among the children under study 65 (60.2%) were citizens of Sary and 22(20.6%) of the patients had a negative history of addiction or psychiatric disease. 100 (92.3%) patients were hospitalized for nonsurgical reasons and the remainder were hospitalized for surgical reasons. For 72.3% of the children their father had signed the discharge on behalf of the children. Of the 108 patients discharged against medical advice, 20 (12%) were readmitted. The relationship between the day of discharge and discharge against medical advice was significant (P-value=0.03). Discharge against medical advice in Boo-Ali hospital showed similar rates with other linear studies. Of significance is also the absence of a suitable form explaining to parents the possible outcomes of self-discharge against medical advice and the failure to record the real cause of such discharges.

Metanephric adenoma is a rare benign renal tumor the clinical and radiological features of which are often similar to the malignant renal adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis of metanephric adenoma remains primarily on post-operative pathologic examination. It has a good prognosis and frequently occurs in middle-aged women. In the present study we report a case of metanephric adenoma in a 32-year-old female. She presented with severe right flank pain and abdominal mass. Nephrectomy was performed and histopathology was consistent with the diagnosis of metanephric adenoma.