Association of Osteoporosis with Anthropometric Measures in a Representative Sample of Iranian Adults: The Iranian Multicenter Osteoporosis Study

BACKGROUND

Osteoporosis and obesity are two major public health problems worldwide. Considering the conflicting results about the association between anthropometric measurement and bone mineral density (BMD) and also differences between various races, this study was designed to examine the relationship between anthropometric measurements and BMD in a sample of Iranian adults.

METHODS

This cross-sectional population-based study was conducted on 2625 Iranian adults aged 18 and above who were selected using multistage, cluster sampling method from Sanandaj and Arak (two cities of Iran). The evaluated variables included age, sex, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), BMD, and waist and hip circumferences. The correlations between anthropometric measures and BMD in three bone areas (total hip, femoral neck, and spine) were observed in four sex/age groups (men <50 years, men ≥50 years, and pre- and postmenopausal women).

RESULTS

Of all the 2625 participants in the Iranian Multicenter Osteoporosis Study, 2022 (1303 women and 719 men) entered into our survey and were stratified into four sex/age groups. According to the results, increasing BMI was directly associated with BMD increase, while an inverse association was observed between waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and total hip BMD. In a similar analysis on the femoral neck and WHR, the correlation coefficients in premenopausal women and men ≥50 years were reported as being the highest and the lowest, respectively, among the four groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results showed that high BMI is a protective factor (positive correlation), and high WHR is a risk factor for osteoporosis, although it should be reminded that we could not specifically define which factors including lean tissue mass, fat mass, and total weight are really affecting BMD increase in the overweight/obese participants.

Association of short stature with life satisfaction and self-rated health in children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-IV study

BACKGROUND

Data on stature in Iranian children and adolescents at national level are limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of short stature with life satisfaction (LS) and self-rated health (SRH) in children and adolescents.

METHODS

Data were obtained from a nationwide survey entitled childhood and adolescence surveillance and prevention of adult non-communicable disease (CASPIAN IV). Participants were 14,880 children and adolescents, aged 6-18 years, who were selected using multistage, cluster sampling method from rural and urban areas of 30 provinces of Iran. LS and SRH were evaluated for every participant by the validated questionnaire prepared based on the global school-based student health survey of the World Health Organization (WHO). Height was measured according to the standard protocol. Short stature was defined as height less than -2 standard deviation (SD) below the mean height for age and sex.

RESULTS

Overall, 13,484 participants with a mean (SD) age of 12.5 (3.36) years (49.24% girls, 50.75% boys) completed the study (response rate 90.6%). The prevalence of short stature, poor SRH and life dissatisfaction was 9%, 20.04% and 20.09%, respectively. Although in the univariate model, participants with short stature had significantly lower odds of LS [odds ratio (OR): 0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.71-0.97] and good SRH (OR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.68-0.92), in the multivariate model, only the association of short stature with good SRH remained statistically significant (OR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.69-0.98).

CONCLUSIONS

Results of the present study show that participants with short stature are at the greater risk of poor SRH and decreased LS in comparison with the subjects with normal height.

The effect of vitamin D on primary dysmenorrhea with vitamin D deficiency: a randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial

Dysmenorrhea is common among women of reproductive age. This study aim was to investigate the effect of vitamin D (vit D) supplementation in treatment of primary dysmenorrhea with vit D deficiency. A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 60 women with primary dysmenorrhea and vit D deficiency referred to our clinic at Arash Women's Hospital from September 2013 to December 2014. Eligible women were randomly assigned into treatment and control groups (30 in each group). Individuals in the treatment group received 50 000 IU oral vit D and the control group received placebo weekly for eight weeks. After two months of treatment, there was a significant difference in serum vit D concentration between the two groups (p < 0.001). Pain severity decreased significantly in treatment group after eight weeks of treatment. There was a significant difference in pain intensity between the two groups after eight weeks of treatment and one month after the end of treatment (p < 0.001 for both). A weekly high dose (50 000 IU) oral vit D supplementation for eight weeks in patients with primary dysmenorrhea and vit D deficiency could improve pain intensity.

Prevalence of obesity and overweight in adults and children in Iran; a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Obesity is one of the most important underlying risk factors for chronic disease. Dramatically increasing and following complication of obesity should be alerted to health politicians and practitioners to prevent associated health risks. This review aimed to give a better insight into the prevalence of obesity and overweight in different areas of Iran.

METHOD

All published internal (SID, Irandoc, Iranmedex), and international (Web of Knowledge, Pubmed, Scopus) source studies, reported the prevalence of overweight/obesity among normal population samples, during Jan 2005 through Jan 2014, were assessed in this review. Paper selection processes were done by two researchers separately. Studies which met the eligible criteria were included in this review.

RESULT

One hundred ninety three eligible studies enter into our review. Of 193 final selected studies, 86 (15 national, 71 sub national) of them were reported the prevalence of obesity/overweight in adult, and 107 studies (11 national, 96 sub national) in under-18 by individual. The range of overweight and obesity prevalence in national studies in adult, was 27.0-38.5 (95% CI: 26.8-27.1, 37.2-39.8), and 12.6-25.9 (95% CI: 12.2-13.0, 24.9-26.8), separately. In under-18 the range of overweight and obesity prevalence in national studies were 5.0-13.5 (95% CI: 4.5-5.5, 13.4-13.6), and 3.2-11.9 (95% CI: 3.0-3.4, 11.3-12.4).

CONCLUSION

Obesity as an important public health problem has been discussed in recent few decades worldwide. Although the national reported prevalence of obesity in Iran was not considerably diverse, but remarkable differences were seen in the sub national prevalence which must be noticed more in political health programs especially among women and children.

Comparison of teaching about breast cancer via mobile or traditional learning methods in gynecology residents

INTRODUCTION

Mobile learning enables users to interact with educational resources while in variable locations. Medical students in residency positions need to assimilate considerable knowledge besides their practical training and we therefore aimed to evaluate the impact of using short message service via cell phone as a learning tool in residents of Obstetrics and Gynecology in our hospital.

METHODS

We sent short messages including data about breast cancer to the cell phones of 25 residents of gynecology and obstetrics and asked them to study a well-designed booklet containing another set of information about the disease in the same period. The rate of learning derived from the two methods was compared by pre- and post-tests and self-satisfaction assessed by a relevant questionnaire at the end of the program.

RESULTS

The mobile learning method had a significantly better effect on learning and created more interest in the subject.

CONCLUSION

Learning via receiving SMS can be an effective and appealing method of knowledge acquisition in higher levels of education.