Evaluation of cardiovascular risk factors in women referring to health centers in Tabriz, Iran, 2017

Evaluating Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Healthcare Professionals in Iran

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, necessitating accurate risk prediction models for effective prevention strategies. This study compares the predictive capabilities of 3 widely used 10-year cardiovascular risk assessment tools - Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) risk score, Framingham Risk Score (FRS), and Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation 2 (SCORE2) - in healthcare professionals in Iran. MATERIAL AND METHODS This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 222 healthcare professionals at Jamaran Hospital in Tehran, assessing cardiovascular risk profiles using the ASCVD, FRS, and SCORE2 tools. Risk factors included age, sex, dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and smoking status. Risk scores were compared to evaluate concordance and classification accuracy across different risk levels. RESULTS The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors was notable: hypertension (30.1%), dyslipidemia (65.7%), diabetes (7.2%), and obesity (24.3%). SCORE2 showed varied distributions of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events. ASCVD categorized most participants as low risk (85.6%), with smaller percentages in borderline (6.8%), intermediate (7.2%), and high-risk (0.5%) groups. FRS classified 97.7% as low risk and 2.3% as intermediate risk. Moderate agreement was observed between SCORE2 and ASCVD in moderate-risk (P<0.001, kappa=0.43) and high-risk (P=0.007, kappa=0.45) regions, with fair agreement between FRS and ASCVD (P<0.001, kappa=0.435). CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the significant prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among healthcare professionals in Iran. It emphasizes the need for recalibrating cardiovascular risk models to better reflect Iran's unique population characteristics, ultimately improving risk prediction accuracy and preventive strategies.

Exploring the pathogenesis of chronic atrophic gastritis with atherosclerosis via microarray data analysis

Although several studies have reported a link between chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) and atherosclerosis, the underlying mechanisms have not been elucidated. The present study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms common to both diseases from a bioinformatics perspective. Gene expression profiles were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Data on atherosclerosis and CAG were downloaded from the GSE28829 and GSE60662 datasets, respectively. We identified the differentially expressed genes co-expressed in CAG and atherosclerosis before subsequent analyses. We constructed and identified the hub genes and performed functional annotation. Finally, the transcription factor (TF)-target genes regulatory network was constructed. In addition, we validated core genes and certain TFs. We identified 116 common differentially expressed genes after analyzing the 2 datasets (GSE60662 and GSE28829). Functional analysis highlighted the significant contribution of immune responses and the positive regulation of tumor necrosis factor production and T cells. In addition, phagosomes, leukocyte transendothelial migration, and cell adhesion molecules strongly correlated with both diseases. Furthermore, 16 essential hub genes were selected with cytoHubba, including PTPRC, TYROBP, ITGB2, LCP2, ITGAM, FCGR3A, CSF1R, IRF8, C1QB, TLR2, IL10RA, ITGAX, CYBB, LAPTM5, CD53, CCL4, and LY86. Finally, we searched for key gene-related TFs, especially SPI1. Our findings reveal a shared pathogenesis between CAG and atherosclerosis. Such joint pathways and hub genes provide new insights for further studies.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among Iranian population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Obesity is a major risk factor for chronic diseases. Politicians and practitioners should be aware of the dramatic increase in obesity and its subsequent complications to prevent associated health risks. This systematic review aimed to provide better insight into the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the Iranian population.

METHOD

An evaluation was conducted on all published observational studies from both national (SID, Irandoc, Iranmedex) and international (Web of Knowledge, PubMed, Scopus) sources, which reported the prevalence of overweight/obesity among normal population samples, between January 2012 and December 2021.

RESULT

A total of 152 eligible studies were included in this meta-analysis. Of the 152 selected studies, 74 reported the prevalence of overweight/obesity in patients aged ≤ 18 years, and 61 studies in adults. In the rest of the articles (17 studies), the results were reported for a combination of these age groups. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Iran was estimated at 20.1 (95% CI 17.92-22.30) and 13.44 (95% CI 11.76-15.22), respectively. This percentage (95% CI) was 11.71 (10.98-12.46) for overweight and 8.08 (7.02-9.22) for obesity in those aged ≤ 18 years, and 35.26 (32.61-37.99) for overweight and 21.38 (19.61-23.20) for obesity in those aged > 18 years. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity in the entire population was 35.09% (95% CI 31.31-38.98).

CONCLUSION

As obesity is on the rise in Iran, we should seek both weight loss strategies and ways to control comorbidities associated with high BMI.

Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in the Women Population Covered by Health Centers in Ardabil

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in the population of women aged 30 to 60 years covered by health centers in Ardabil.

METHODS

This retrospective descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 1006 women aged 30 to 60 years who were covered by Ardabil comprehensive urban health service centers, and they were selected by using the multistage random sampling method. In the first stage, health centers in Ardabil were divided into five geographical areas, and the population covered by each of the five areas was calculated. In the second stage, the number of samples was allocated as a quota in the regions, and in the third stage, in proportion to the population covered by each center in Ardabil, the samples were selected. Women with one of the conditions of pregnancy, lactation, history of kidney disease, known diabetes under medication, history of hepatitis, history of cardiovascular surgery, and history of cancer were excluded from the research process.

RESULTS

The average activity of individuals was 24.42 minutes per day. The mean intake of fruits and vegetables was 1.9 ± 0.9 and 2.1 ± 1.07 unit/day, respectively, and meat was 286.6 ± 174.6 grams per week. The mean of HDL, LDL, TG, cholesterol, and FBS were 43.6 ± 10.4, 101.28 ± 26.3, 159.89 ± 54.01, 185.99 ± 37.9, and 94.62 ± 13.3 mg/dl, respectively. The mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were 108.14 and 68.26 mmHg, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Abdominal obesity (waist above 88), obesity and overweight (high body mass index), high triglycerides, high cholesterol, and LDL and HDL outside the proper range were the most important and risk factors for cardiovascular disease among women.