International Journal of Preventive Medicine
Volume:3 Issue: 9, Sep 2012

Regular physical activity (PA) is an underlying factor since childhood and adolescence for having a healthy and active future for life. The aim of this stud y was to review the evidence on increasing the youth PA to develop the national program at country level. At first, the databases were searched using the sensitive keywords, and systematic reviews of the relevant databases were extracted. The studies were evaluated in terms of relevance and methodological quality for effective interventions that were detected. These cases were also identified in the effective interventions: disadvantages, benefits, costs, methods, and limitations of early studies, which were based on systematic review of the studies. Three interventions were identified as physical education curriculum reform, the creation of extra-curricular activities, as well as approaches to environmental and social support. Evidences showed that the relative impact of these interventions were not high. Thus, a combination of all three options of integrated approach is recommended for reducing the sedentary lifestyle of youths.

Illicit drug abuse has crossed social, economic, and geographical borders, and remains one of the major health problems that modern society is facing worldwide. The role of multiple drug abuse as a basic for chromosome damage has been overlooked and it is important to determine its possible adverse health effects. This study aimed to compare the frequency of chromosomal damages between drug addicts and free drug controls. Cytogenetic study was obtained from 146 illicit drugusers and 200 free drug controls. Subjects were grouped into three categories depending on main drug of dependence. Cytogenetic studies on cultured lymphocytes showed an increase the frequency of chromosomal damages among addicts including opiate (5.89%), heroin (7.65%), and crystal (4.9%) when compared with drug free controls (1.45%). The frequency of chromosomal abnormalities was breaks, gaps, marker, and acentric, respectively. Our findings are also important as they are among the first to suggest here, illicit drug addiction continue to be significant public health problems in Iran.

Optic neuritis (ON) can be the first presentation of multiple sclerosis (MS) or neuromyelitis optica (NMO). Antiaquaporin-4 IgG (AQP4 IgG) is a highly specific and moderately sensitive biomarker for NMO. This study was designed to assess the rate of seropositivity for AQP4 IgG, and the short-term outcome of patients presenting with single isolated ON (SION). A cohort of 41 consecutive patients experiencing severe (< 20 / 200) SION (not fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for MS or NMO), was prospectively recruited. Blood sampling was carried out immediately after the diagnosis of ON, and AQP4 IgG was tested qualitatively, using an indirect immunofluorescence kit. After clinical and paraclinical investigations, all the patients were followed up for a short-term period of at least 18 months. The seroprevalence among the initial ON patients was 9.7% (4 / 41). The short-term conversion rate to MS and NMO was estimated to be about 7.3 and 4.9%, respectively. The conversion rate to NMO in initially seropositive patients was greater than that for the whole cohort [2 / 4 (50%) vs. 2 / 41 (4.9%); P = 0.035; Odds ratio: 19.5, 95% confidence interval: 1.73 to 219.50]. AQP4 IgG seropositive SION patients were more likely to develop NMO in comparison to the total SION population. Further studies, with a longer follow-up period and larger sample sizes are warranted to assess the clinical and prognostic value of assessing AQP4 IgG in SION.

This study was done to compare the analgesic effects of “magnesium plus lidocaine,” “paracetamol plus lidocaine,” and “placebo plus lidocaine” on block characteristics for intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA) in patients undergoing upper extremity orthopedic surgery. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial, 90 patients were selected and entered randomly into three study groups after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Time to start of the sensory and motor block were measured separately and also the duration of these two block types were measured. Post-op pain assessment was measured using a numeric rating scale. Venous samples were checked and compared regarding blood gas and pH measurements. The time from drug injection to sensory block onset was the shortest in the magnesium plus lidocaine group; the time from drug injection to the time of motor block onset was the shortest in the lidocaine plus magnesium group; the duration of the motor block was the longest in the lidocaine plus magnesium group. Addition of magnesium lidocaine in patients undergoing upper extremity orthopedic operations using IVRA decreases significantly the time gap between drug administration and the start of the block; also, this drug combination increases the IVRA block length, while paracetamol does not have such a significant effect.

The purpose of this community-based participatory research was to compare different training sources for adolescents’ menstrual health education. From 15 middle schools in Tehran, through quota random sampling, 1823 female students were selected proportionally and allocated randomly to three groups (parent trained, schools’ health trainers trained, and control). Following a two-year training program, the adolescents’ menstrual health was compared. In the present study, the school health trainers trained group showed a better feeling for menarche, compared to the two other groups (P < 0.001). The need for adolescent health training was emphasized by 82% of the participants; they also believed that the appropriate age for such empowerment courses was about 12 years. In the school health trainers trained group, the offered age was significantly lower than in other groups (P < 0.001). The adolescents trained by the school health trainers had a better practice of habits related to menstrual and hygiene practices, like having a bath during menstruation and the use of sanitary pads or cotton, compared to their counterpart groups (P > 0.05). It is suggested that school-based health training leads to better menstrual health promotion and healthy puberty transition, and school health trainers play a key role in this regard.

Maternal mortality is a major public health problem in low-income countries, such as Bangladesh. Women’s empowerment in relation to enhanced utilization of delivery care is underexplored. This study investigates the associations between women’s economic empowerment and their utilization of maternal health care services in Bangladesh. In total, 4925 women (15–49 years of age) with at least one child from whole Bangladesh constituted the study sample. Home delivery without skilled birth attendant and use of institutional delivery services were the main outcome variables used for the analyses. Economic empowerment, neighborhood socioeconomic status, household economic status, and demographic factors were considered as explanatory variables. The chi square test and unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression analyses were applied at the collected data. In the adjusted model, respondent’s and husband’s education, household economic status, and residency emerged as important predictors for utilization of delivery care services. In the unadjusted model, economically empowered working and microfinanced women displayed more home delivery. The current study shows that use of delivery care services is associated with socioeconomic development and can be enhanced by societies that focus on general issues such as schooling, economic wellbeing, and gender-based discrimination.

Cisplatin (CP) is used as the commonest drug to treat solid tumors. It is accompanied by a nephrotoxicity side effect. The main objective of this study is to investigate the protective role of magnesium (Mg) supplementation in CP-induced nephrotoxicity in a rat model. Twenty-nine Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups (1–4). Groups 1–3 received 20, 80, and 200 mg/kg magnesium sulfate respectively, for 10 days, but on day 3, a single dose of CP (7 mg/kg, i.p.) was also injected. Group 4 (positive control group) received the same regimen of Groups 1–3 except saline instead magnesium sulfate. One week after CP administration, blood samples were obtained and all animals were killed for kidney histopathological investigations. All CP-treated animals lost weight, and the percentage of weight loss in Group 1 (low dose Mg sulfate treated) was significantly higher compared with the positive control group (Group 4, P < 0.05). The increase in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr) levels in serum in Group 1 were more than those in other groups (P < 0.05). No statistical differences were observed in serum magnesium, nitrite, and total protein levels among the groups. The kidney tissue damage in Groups 1–3 was not significantly different when compared with Group 4. Moreover, the kidney and testis weights in Group 1 were significantly greater than those in the positive control group (P < 0.05). Regarding the BUN and Cr levels in the serum, kidneys weight, and the histopathological study, the low dose of Mg supplementation intensifies kidney toxicity and renal dysfunction in CP-induced nephrotoxicity in the rat model. However, the protective role of Mg with moderate and high doses is not certain.

The goal of this study is to extend the applications of parametric survival models so that they include cases in which accelerated failure time (AFT) assumption is not satisfied, and examine parametric and semiparametric models under different proportional hazards PH) and AFT assumptions. The data for 12,531 women diagnosed with breast cancer in British Columbia, Canada, during 1990–1999 were divided into eight groups according to patients’ ages and stage of disease, and each group was assumed to have different AFT and PH assumptions. For parametric models, we fitted the saturated generalized gamma (GG) distributio, and compared this with the conventional AFT model. Using a likelihood ratio statistic, both models were compared to the simpler forms including the Weibull and lognormal. For semiparametric models, either Cox’s PH model or stratified Cox model was fitted according to the PH assumption and tested using Schoenfeld residuals. The GG family was compared to the log-logistic model using AIC and BIC criteria. When PH and AFT assumptions were satisfied, semiparametric and parametric models both provided valid descriptions of breast cancer patient survival. When PH assumption was not satisfied but AFT condition held, the parametric models performed better than the stratified Cox model. When neither the PH nor the AFT assumptions were met, the lo-normal distribution provided a reasonable fit. When both the PH and AFT assumptions are satisfied, the parametric and semiparametric models provide complementary information. When PH assumption is not satisfied, the parametric models should be considered, whether the AFT assumption is met or not.

Treatment of hypertension includes pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions. Among the nonpharmacological interventions emphasizes the practice of regular physical exercise. However, the effects of aerobic exercise training on cardiovascular and metabolic parameters in elderly hypertensive women are still controversial. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a walking program on metabolic and cardiovascular parameters at rest and during the recovery period following maximal exercise by hypertensive elderly women. Twelve elderly women with hypertension started a 2-week walking program. Rest blood cholesterol and anthropometric data, as well as blood pressure and heart rate at rest and after progressive maximal exercise were measured before and after training. There were significant differences between the pre- and posttraining periods in VO2max, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean blood pressure. There were no changes in serum cholesterol levels after the training. During the recovery period following the progressive test, the fall in heart rate and mean blood pressure after 10 minutes of recovery was significantly higher after training. The proposed walking program did not alter serum cholesterol, but it did reduce resting blood pressure, improve aerobic performance and accelerate the fall in heart rate and mean blood pressure during the postprogressive maximal aerobic exercise recovery period in elderly hypertensive women.

Hydatid disease is still endemic in several regions of the world and is caused by two species of tapeworms, Echinococcus granulosus and Echinococcus alveolaris. It primary involves liver and lung, and bone involvement is relatively rare (0.2–4%), where it is most commonly seen in the spine. The skeletal involvement is usually due to secondary extension such as hematogenous spread. The disease has usually a silent manifestation until a complication exists; so, many cases are diagnosed intraoperatively. Treatment of hydatid disease because of its bone involvement and spillage of fluid with subsequent contamination seeding is difficult, so it has a high mortality rate and many cases will recur. Therefore, we can prevent these occurrences if we treat hydatid disease completely and in the primary stage. Adjuvant medical treatment, if the diagnosis is known, prevents systemic spread and recurrence. Here, we present a primary recurrent hydatosis at the site of non-union humerus fracture. We have pointed out osseous hydatosis as one of the important differential diagnoses in destructive bone lesions and the necessity of its radical resection.

We read with much interest “Vitamin and Mineral Supplements: Do We Really Need Them?” As mentioned in the article, the use of multivitamin supplement is common, with 40–50% of people over the age of 50 using such supplements, resulting in a total sale approaching $28 billion dollars in 2011.[1]Currently, there is much enthusiasm surrounding vitamin D supplementation and its long-term effects on cardiovascular disease. Many recent prospective studies have shown a greater incidence of cardiovascular events among those people with vitamin D deficiency; however, there have been no randomized controlled trials evaluating vitamin D supplementation in primary prevention of predefined cardiovascular events. Fortunately, the VITAL trial (NCT01169259), a randomized controlled primary prevention trial evaluating whether supplementation of 2000 IU of vitamin D3 or 1 g of omega-3 fatty acids reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer in otherwise healthy patients, is currently ongoing.[2] Hopefully, the VITAL trial will help us reach some conclusion about vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation.