International Journal of Preventive Medicine
Volume:4 Issue: 6, Jun 2013

By late 18th or early 19th century, albino rats became the most commonly used experimental animals in numerous biomedical researches, as they have been recognized as the preeminent model mammalian system. But, the precise correlation between age of laboratory rats and human is still a subject of debate. A number of studies have tried to detect these correlations in various ways. But, have not successfully provided any proper association. Thus, the current review attempts to compare rat and human age at different phases of their life. The overall fi ndings indicate that rats grow rapidly during their childhood and become sexually mature at about the sixth week, but attain social maturity 5-6 months later. In adulthood, every day of the animal is approximately equivalent to 34.8 human days (i.e., one rat month is comparable to three human years). Numerous researchers performed experimental investigations in albino rats and estimated, in general, while considering their entire life span, that a human month resembles every-day life of a laboratory rat. These differences signify the variations in their anatomy, physiology and developmental processes, which must be taken into consideration while analyzing the results or selecting the dose of any research in rats when age is a crucial factor.

Physiological, anthropometrical and thermal perceptual are the most important factors affecting thermoregulation of men and women in workplaces. The purpose of this study was determining the validity of a questionnaire method for assessing women’s heat strain in workplaces. This cross‑sectional study was carried out on 96 healthy women. Data were continuously collected over a period of 3 months (July-September) in 2012. Mean ± (SD) of age was found to be 31.5 ± 7.48 years, of height 1.61 ± 0.05 m, of weight 61.55 ± 10.35 kg, and of body mass index 23.52 ± 3.75 kg/m2 in different workplaces. Heart rate and oral temperature were measured by heart rate monitoring and a medical digital thermometer, respectively. Subjects completed a draft questionnaire about the effective factors in the onset of heat strain. After collecting the questionnaires, the data were analyzed by applying Cronbach’sa calculation, factor analysis method, Pearson correlation and receiver operator characteristic curves using the SPSS 18 software. The value for Cronbach’s a was found to be 0.68. The factor analysis method on items of draft questionnaire extracted three subscale (16 variables) which they explained 63.6% of the variance. According to the results of receiver operator characteristic curve analysis, the cut‑off questionnaire score for separating people with heat strain from people with no heat strain was obtained to be 17. The results of this research indicated that this quantitative questionnaire has an acceptable reliability and validity, and a cut‑off point. Therefore it could be used in the preliminary screening of heat strain in women in warm workplaces, when other heat stress evaluation methods are not available.

Multiple factors such as retirement, work disability, social rejection, physical illness and etc., have an impact on general health of the elders. One factor among others is the role of psychological variables. The study is intended to assess the effect of positive and negative perfectionism and Type-D personality (distressed) on general health of the elders. In this descriptive-correlation study, 80 people (47 male and 33 female) were selected from residents of Nursing Home in Hamadan and Malayer using non-probability (accessible) sampling method. They responded to the questionnaires of Type-D Personality, Goldberg and Hillier’s General Health and Positive and Negative Perfectionism of Terry-Short et al. Positive perfectionism (r = 0.30) and type-D personality (r = 0.32) had significant correlation with general health. Multiple regression analysis revealed that positive perfectionism and type-D personality could explain at least 49% of the variance in general health. Concerning the variables of negative affectivity, social inhibition and social function, the females’ mean was higher than that of males and considering the variables of positive perfectionism, and social functioning, the males’ mean was higher than that of females. Positive perfectionism decreases mental disorder of the elders by creating optimistic attitudes and enhancing social functions. On the other hand, type-D personality, unlike positive perfectionism, makes elders susceptible to physical illness and mental disorder.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) has been recognized as one of the most complex clinical complications in modern medicine, and ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is well-known as a main reason of AKI. In addition, AKI leads to important systemic consequences such as acute lung injury. This study was designed to investigate the role of erythropoietin (EPO) on kidney function makers and tissue damage; and lung endothelial permeability and lung water content (LWC) in bilateral renal I/R injury model in rats. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups of sham, I/R, and I/R treated with EPO (I/R + EPO) groups. The I/R and I/R + EPO groups were subjected to bilateral renal I/R injury; however, only the I/R + EPO group received EPO (500 IU/kg, i.p.) 2 h before ischemia surgery, and the same dose was continued once a day for 3 days after ischemia. The sham group underwent a surgical procedure without ischemia process. The blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Cr) levels, kidney tissue damage score (KTDS), and kidney weight (KW) per 100 g body weight signifi cantly increased in I/R group (P < 0.05). EPO administration decreased levels of BUN and Cr signifi cantly (P < 0.05), and KTDS and KW insignifi cantly (P = 0.1). No signifi cant differences in kidney and serum levels of malondialdehyde, and lung vascular permeability and LWC were observed between the groups. The serum and kidney levels of nitrite were not signifi cantly different between I/R and sham groups; however, administration of EPO increased the renal level of nitrite (P < 0.05). EPO protected the kidney against I/R injury; however, it may not protect the lung tissue from the damage induced by renal I/R injury in rats.

Fatalities from road traffic crashes (RTCs) are a public health challenge for low- and middle-income countries, especially those experiencing epidemiological transition. This paper aims to describe demographics and trend analysis of fatalities of RTCs in Oman from 1995 to 2009. The RTC data from 1995 to 2009 were obtained from the published reports of the Royal Oman Police (ROP). Data were extracted on the distribution of deaths by age, sex, nationality, mode of travel (driver, passenger, pedestrians), and type of vehicle (four- vs. two-wheelers). Trend analyses were carried out using the Chi-square for the percentages of deaths and linear regression for rates. A total of 9,616 deaths from RTCs were reported from 1995 to 2009. Of 9,616 fatalities, 4,666 (48.5%) were aged 26-50 years, 7,927 (82.4%) were males, 7,215 (75.0%) were Omanis, and 2,278 (23.8%) were pedestrians. Overall, mortality increased by around 50% from 479 deaths during 1995 to 953 deaths during 2009. There was a significant increase in the proportion of deaths (P < 0.05) and death rates (P < 0.05) among individuals aged 26-50 years, males, Omani nationals, and drivers. The number and rate of RTC fatalities due to overspeeding was also increased (P < 0.05). Fatalities due to RTCs in Oman are increasing, especially among those aged 26-50 years, males, drivers, and Omani nationals with overspeeding as a major cause of road traffic fatalities. There is a need for more research in understanding the risk-taking behaviors of young drivers, and sociocultural factors, especially among Omani nationals to target interventions.

Primary health care workers (PHCW) are the front-liners in any infectious disease outbreaks. The recent outbreak of H1N1 influenza demonstrated that uptake of H1N1 vaccination remained low amongst PCHW despite its proven effectiveness. This trend is worrying as PHCW are the first point of contact in any emerging outbreak of future influenza epidemic. To investigate factors influencing willingness of H1N1 vaccination amongst PHCW. A cross-sectional survey using self-reported questionnaire assessing perception and practice towards H1N1 Influenza A vaccination. A score of 34/50 was used as a cut-off score that divide good and poor perception. Logistic regression analysis used to explore the association between acceptance to be vaccinated and chosen variables. The mean age was 33.91 (SD 8.20) with mean year of service of 9.23 (SD 8.0). Acceptance of H1N1 vaccination was 86.3%. A total of 85.9% perceived the vaccination can prevent serious disease. Willingness to be vaccinated influenced by perception at risk of having illness (OR 10.182, CI 1.64-63.23, P 0.013) and need for vaccination (OR 11.35, CI 4.67-27.56, P < 0.0001). PCHW were generally willing to be vaccinated should H1N1 Influenza epidemic emerges in the future. However, acceptance of vaccination was influenced by factors of benefit to prevent illness and reduction of spread of the illness. Fear of side-effects remained a barrier toward acceptance which should be taken into account in planning of preparation for future wave of outbreak.

The most fundamental way to decrease the burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is to identify and control their related risk factors. The goal of this study is to determine socioeconomic inequalities in risk factors for NCDs using concentration index based on Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance Survey (NCDSS) data in Kurdistan province, Islamic Republic of Iran in 2005 and 2009. The required data for this study are taken from two NCDSSs in Kurdistan province in 2005 and 2009. A total of 2,494 persons in 2005 and 997 persons in 2009 were assessed. Concentration index was used to determine socioeconomic inequality. To assess the relationship between the prevalence of each risk factor and socioeconomic status (SES), logistic regression was used and odds ratio (OR) was calculated for each group, compared with the poorest group. The concentration index for hypertension was -0.095 (-0.158, -0.032) in 2005 and -0.080 (-0.156, -0.003) in 2009. The concentration index for insuffi cient consumption of fruits and vegetables was -0.117 (-0.153, -0.082) in 2005 and -0.100 (-0.153, -0.082) in 2009. The concentration index for the consumption of unhealthy fat and oil was -0.034 (-0.049, -0.019) in 2005 and -0.108 (-0.165, -0.051) in 2009. The concentration index for insuffi cient consumption of fi sh was -0.070 (-0.096, -0.044) in 2005. The concentration index for physical inactivity was 0.008 (-0.057, 0.075) in 2005 and 0.139 (0.063, 0.215) in 2009. In all the cases, the OR of the richest group to the poorest group was signifi cant. Hypertension, insuffi cient consumption of fruits and vegetables, consumption of unhealthy fat and oil, and insuffi cient consumption of fi sh are more prevalent among poor groups. There was no signifi cant socioeconomic inequality in the distribution of smoking, excess weight, and hypercholesterolemia. Physical inactivity was more prevalent among the rich groups of society in 2009. The reduction of socioeconomic inequalities must become a main goal in health-care policies.

Breast and testicular cancers affect a substantial and increasing proportion of the global population. Self-examination encourages early detection and treatment of these cancers, which positively impacts on patient quality of life and survival. The present study investigated the role of body esteem in breast and testicular self-examination. Men (N = 60) and women (N = 90) recruited from a British University completed the body esteem scale and either the testicular self-examination or breast self-examination questionnaire. Logistic regression models revealed that body esteem predicted women’s intention to engage in breast self-examination. Women with higher levels of sexual attractiveness and those with lower levels of weight concern were more likely to report that they would regularly self-examine in the future. Body esteem did not however, distinguish between those women that did or did not currently self-examine or predict men’s current or intended testicular self-examination. The findings have implications for the promotion of self-examination and highlight an emerging area of preventive health research.

The co-existence of under and overnutrition might be influenced by a marked shift in dietary and lifestyle practices of people in developing countries. This study aims to identify the factors associated with the occurrence of a dual form of malnutrition in the same households in a rural district in Peninsular Malaysia. This study was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved a survey of 223 mother-child pairs that fit the required criteria (223 non-pregnant, non-lactating mothers aged 18 to 55 years old and 223 children aged 2 to 12 years old). Anthropometric indices: Weight-for-age Z score (WAZ) ≤1 SD was used to classify underweight status in children. Body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2 was used to measure overweight status among mothers. The results showed that the prevalence of overweight mother/underweight child (OWM/UWC) pairs was 66 (29.6%), and that the prevalence of normal weight mother/normal weight child (NWM/NWC) pairs was 34 (15.2%). The second phase of the study involved a case-control comparison of the 66 OWM/UWC pairs and the 34 NWM/NWC pairs. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to gather socio-economic-demographic data, whereas food frequency questionnaire was used to assess diet diversity. The results indicated that 61.0% of the children were underweight and 61.4% were stunted, whereas the prevalence of overweight and obesity in women were 35% and 17%, respectively. The study did not report any association between the dual burden of malnutrition and household size, number of children, educational level of the mother, total income, income per capita, and food expenditure. The only association reported was with household type (OR: 5.01; 95% CI; 63, 15.34; P = 0.005). In general, the total diet diversity score of both types of mother-child pairs was low. Compared with overweight mothers, normal weight mothers had a higher diet diversity score for at least six food groups and for the total diet diversity score, although these differences were not signifi cant. The clustering of dual forms of malnutrition in the same household poses big challenges for food intervention programs. Although, this study cannot make an inference for the whole population, the results shed light on a serious public health issue that must be addressed.

Celiac disease (CD) is an immune mediated condition that leads to small bowel atrophy that resolves with a gluten free diet (GFD). Extra-intestinal manifestations of CD include hypertransaminasemia. In this study, the effects of a GFD on hypertransaminasemia in patients with newly diagnosed CD were studied. Ninety eight new diagnosed consecutive patients with CD 40 males and 58 females) with mean age of 32 ± 17.1 were studied. All patients with CD were treated with a GFD. Patients with hypertransaminasemia, at diagnosis, had a cirrhosis screen performed. Patients with a negative cirrhosis screen were reviewed, 6 months after the introduction of a GFD, and serum levels of liver transaminases were measured again. Nine patients had hypertransaminasemia. One patient was Hepatitis B surface antigen positive and was excluded from this study. The 8 remaining patients had no obvious cause for the hypertransaminasemia. Mean (± SD) of baseline aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were 42.6 ± 16.5 IU/L (range: 16-66 IU/L) and 69.3 ± 9.3 IU/L (range: 52-81 IU/L). Six months after treatment with a GFD, mean AST and ALT levels decreased to 24.5 ± 5.1 IU/L (range: 18-31 IU/L) (P: 0.04) and 24.6 ± 6 IU/L (range: 17-32 IU/L) (P: 0.01), respectively. In 7 patients the hypertransaminasemia, at diagnosis had resolved. This study provides further evidence that some patients with CD have a reversible hypertransaminasemia that resolves with a GFD.

Although visual impairment of drivers is a very important risk factor for car accident, a few published papers have explored this issue in Iran. This study aims to evaluate the visual fitness of public vehicle drivers in Kerman province, southeast of Iran. A total of 4,003 public vehicle drivers were examined by one ophthalmologist for visual fitness in Kerman province between January 2009 and June 2010. Data are presented as Mean±SD or percentage, and with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Pearson Chi-square and McNemmar tests along with crude odds ratio (OR) were used to compare vision deficit between groups. Almost 361 drivers (9.0%; 95% CI: 8.1-9.9) had insufficient vision to drive public vehicles before the refractive errors (RE) correction and this number, was reduced to 68 drivers (1.7%; 95% CI: 1.3-2.1) after the correction. A number of them including 200 drivers (5.0%; 95% CI: 4.3-5.7) had insufficient vision to drive personal vehicles before the correction and this was reduced to 30 thereafter (0.8%; 95% CI: 0.5-1.0). We also found out that the vision status got worse with aging, and RE was the most prevalent cause of sight defects. It seems that visual fitness of public vehicle drivers is a point of real concerns which might somewhat explain the high rate of car accidents in Iran.

Normal salivary function is considered to be critical for the maintenance of healthy oral mucosa. Oral fluids provide an easily available, non-invasive medium for the diagnosis of wide range of diseases and clinical situations. The objective of this study was to estimate and compare salivary nitric oxide levels in patients with oral lichen planus and healthy individuals. To estimate the levels of salivary nitric oxide in patients with oral lichen planus and compare them with those of healthy subjects (controls). Saliva was collected by spitting method. Unstimulated whole saliva thus collected was refrigerated at 4°C, and processed within 24 h for the estimation of nitric oxide levels which was done using Griess reaction. The results were analyzed using Student’s “t” test. There was statistically significant difference in the levels of salivary nitric oxide between the study and control groups. The present study clearly indicates a significant increase in salivary nitric oxide levels in oral lichen planus patients as compared to controls.

Between the end of June and the middle of July 2011, an outbreak of CCHF occurred in southern part of Tehran, Iran. This study reports clinical, laboratory fi ndings and outcome of six cases, who were all consanguine. Index case who was livestock-worker died with hemorrhagic manifestations; thereafter his pregnant wife, three brothers, mother-in-law and his pregnant sister-in-law were admitted and except for the latter, ribavirin was administered. The brother with close contact with body fl uids and blood of index case, died with hemorrhage. Low platelet, high aminotransferases and elevated PT, PTT were detected in this case. Skin manifestations were present in fi ve cases. Only in one case RT-PCR and IgM serology were reported as positive for CCHF virus by reference laboratory. In endemic areas, high index of suspicion should be kept in mind in successfully fi nding and treating cases in early phase of the disease.

A rare case of ascaris coming out through the anterior abdominal wall is reported here. A 40‑year‑old female had undergone dilatation and curettage by a quack. On the second day she presented with presented with features of peritonitis. She was explored. Resection anastomosis of the ileum was done for multiple perforations of the ileum. Patient developed a fistula in the anterior abdominal wall which was draining bile‑colored fluid. On the 12th postoperative day a 10‑cm‑long worm was seen coming out through the fistulous tract which was found to be Ascaris lumbricoids. Ascaris lumbricoids can lead to many complications ranging from worm colic to intestinal obstruction, volvulus, peritonitis, pancreatitis, cholangiohepatitis, liver abscess and many more. Worm has been reported to come out through mouth, nostrils, abdominal drains, T‑tubes etc. But ascaris coming out through the anterior abdominal wall is very rare hence reported here.

Occupational burns are among the important causes of work-related fatalities and absenteeism. Epidemiologic assessment of these injuries is important to define high-risk jobs. We designed this study to evaluate the epidemiology of occupational burns in Yazd, an industrial province in Iran. This is a prospective study on work-related burns in a 1-year period (2008-2009). A questionnaire was completed for them about the characteristics of the burn injury. Three Hundred and Thirty Eight patients with occupational burns were identified. Their mean age was 29.64 years. Most burn victims were male workers in the metal industry. The most common job was smelting. Most burns were happened in the morning. Thermal burns were observed more than chemical and electrical burns. Mean total body surface area burned was 6.5%. The most common cause of burn was hot fluid, followed by hot object and flame. There wasn’t any significant relationship between burn type, and burn degree or burned body surface. The highest incidence of occupational burns was in 21-30 year-old workers. There was a male preponderance in work-related burns. Metal industry had the most injured workers and among them, smelters were more frequently injured.

Disorders of cardiovascular system can cause disability or death, screening is necessary specially in workers who maybe had risk factors. Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, smoking, genetic, exposure to chemicals, fumes, solvents, coldness are non occupational and occupational risk factors. Objective was comparison of cardiovascular disorders risk factors between workers in different industries of Iran. In a cross-sectional study, workers of automobile, food industries and light works had been selected and cardiovascular disorders risk factors had been gathered then data analyzed in SPSS with one-way ANOVA, Chi-2 and multi nominal logistic regression with P < 0.05. 875 workers had been participated in the study, all of the cardiovascular disorders risk factors were in the normal range. Mean of high density lipoprotein (HDL) in food industry workers was 63.83 ± 17.42 mg/dl and it was protective, but in workers who work in automobile industry was 38.97 ± 11.08 mg/dl and the lowest, Also hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia were more prominent in this industry and after regression with P < 0.05, the differences were significant. Screening of cardiovascular disorders risk factors were important and helpful in industries specially automobile industry, that might be preventive method for these disorders in the future.