International Journal of Preventive Medicine最新文献

Background: Sanctions can affect humanitarian, GDP growth, the value of the national currency, income inequality, poverty, food security, and health. This study aims to represent the relationship between sanctions and public health and the strategies to deal with it.

Methods: The study used a mixed-methods approach. We used data and information from two sources: a scoping literature review and a survey on experts' opinions (10 participants from health policymakers, managers, and researchers). Inductive thematic analysis was adopted to analyze the qualitative data with the MAXQDA software version 10.

Results: The international economic sanctions affect directly and indirectly on targeted population's right to access social welfare and health. The literature review about Iran showed that the sanction had affected public health in four general respects: Economic, Sociocultural, political, and direct health factors. The strategies to deal with sanctions categorized into two themes are the health sector and the health-related extra-sector.

Conclusions: The devastating effects of economic sanctions directly and indirectly on health have significantly reduced financial and physical access to drugs and medical equipment in Iran, leading to a substantial decline in public health, The UN and the international community should anticipate these side-effects of sanctions to prevent further humanitarian catastrophes in the future.

The digital era has been characterized by quick technological developments, and it has transformed every aspect of human life. Adolescence is a period where significant physical, emotional, and social development happens and, in this phase, only habits and behaviors are formed, thus it becomes vital to take measures for a healthy foundation for adulthood. Moreover, since adolescents are among the highest users of digital platforms, including social media applications, we can leverage these platforms to inculcate healthy behaviors through a combination of digital interactions. The advances in the digital era do come with a set of challenges, which must be acknowledged and appropriately dealt with to effectively and efficiently optimize the benefits. In conclusion, in the digital era, there are ample opportunities available for applications and online platforms to improve the health standards and well-being of adolescents. The need of the hour is to overcome the existing challenges and optimize the use of available digital applications for the betterment and empowerment of adolescents.

Background: A high-fat diet (HFD) significantly contributes to the development of chronic diseases, which have become a major public health concern. These diseases affect individuals' health and quality of life and hinder socioeconomic progress. Trace elements (TEs) are crucial in various physiological and biochemical processes. Although the effects of single or a few TEs have been extensively reported, considering the complex interactions between different TEs, the effects of balanced supplementation of multiple TEs still need further investigation.

Methods: In this research, 11 TEs (B, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Sr, and Mo) were selected and prepared as a mixed solution in specific proportions to supplement rats. The study investigated the effects of balanced supplementation of multiple TEs on inflammation, oxidative stress, and immune function in rats fed an HFD.

Results: The results demonstrated that supplementing multiple TEs had several positive effects, including increased lipid metabolism in HFD rats, improved dyslipidemia, reduced weight and obesity incidence, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, and improved anti-inflammatory capacity.

Conclusions: Therefore, the balanced supplementation of various TEs is expected to become an effective method to prevent and control the harmful effects of HFD.

Background: Various investigations have evaluated the predictive ability of different anthropometric indices for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk and the findings were inconsistent in different populations. This study investigated the relationship between anthropometric indicators and T2DM in the Rafsanjan Cohort Study.

Methods: The present cross-sectional study included 9895 adults, aged 35-70 years, among them who have completed data, were studied. We obtained the data from the Rafsanjan Cohort Study (RCS), as a part of the prospective epidemiological research studies in Iran (PERSIAN). Fasting blood glucose >126 and use of glucose-lowering drugs were used from cohort data as T2DM. Anthropometric indices were compared for T2DM or prediabetes odds vs. normal group. Demographic characteristics and risk factors were compared in diabetes, prediabetes, and normal groups.

Results: Of 9895 participants, about 23 (n = 2283) and 35% (n = 3455) of this population had T2DM and prediabetes, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, for waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (OR = 3.25, 95% CI 2.68-3.94) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) (OR = 2.90, 95% CI 2.40-3.49), individuals in the highest quartile had a higher probability of developing T2DM than individuals in the lowest quartile. Also, the odds ratio of T2DM increased in participants with overweight, obesity, and abnormal waist circumference (WC) by considering a cutoff point.

Conclusions: According to our findings, the strongest and weakest anthropometric indexes related to T2DM were WHR and WC, respectively.

The high prevalence of depression, stress, and anxiety imposes a high cost on society. Recently, intermittent fasting (IF) has attracted a great deal of attention regarding the improvement in physical and psychological health. Due to insufficient information in this field, our study will review systematically the effect of different types of IF including religious and nonreligious fasting on mental health. We will search MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for papers published from the inception until the end of September 2024. All clinical trial studies that report the effect of intervention through intermittent fasting on mood disorders, stress, depression, and anxiety, in all countries, with their full text available in the English and Persian languages, will be included. Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomized Controlled Trials will be used to evaluate the quality of evidence in the domains of random sequence generation, allocation concealment, selective reporting, other bias, blinding of participants and personnel, blinding of outcome assessment, and incomplete outcome data. We will conduct the study in accordance with the guideline of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses Protocols. Our systematic review will clarify the answer of some important questions like "Does fasting interventions have any effectiveness on stress, anxiety and depression"? and "Are there differences between the effects of Ramadan fasting and other types of fasting on mental health"? It is hoped that the results can provide a new treatment for the most prevalent mental disorders.

Crohn's disease is a chronic and progressive inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract; whose symptoms recur and subside. This disease mainly affects the ileum and terminal colon and usually causes segmental, asymmetric, and transmural inflammation. Its clinical symptoms are variable, including diarrhea, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, weight loss, and skin lesions. Due to the unknown causes of this disease, it is difficult to diagnose and manage it, especially in cases of silent Crohn's disease that does not have clear symptoms, and this has made the diagnosis of silent Crohn's a serious challenge for specialists. Unfortunately, today there is no specific guideline for the diagnosis and management of silent Crohn's disease, and the purpose of this research is to provide such a guideline. Two separate approaches were adopted: firstly, the evaluation of international articles (researchers' point of view) and the second part, the evaluation of the opinions of Iranian specialists active in the field of diagnosis and treatment of Crohn's patients (experts' point of view). in terms of Therefore, the opinions and discussions raised in international articles regarding diagnostic methods, clinical indicators, alternative methods in diagnosis, treatment methods, methods of monitoring treatment, and follow-up are reviewed, summarized, and compared with the opinions and performance of experts. Internally placed. According to experts' opinions, questions were designed based on scenarios of patients with special conditions. Then, the opinions of the country's most prominent internal medicine and gastroenterology specialists were recorded in person or by phone. Finally, the opinions were summarized and a proposed recommendation was created for the diagnosis of silent Crohn's disease. Mainly for the initial diagnosis of silent Crohn's depending on the condition of the disease, the diagnosis of aphthous lesions similar to Crohn's, in patients with high CRP and other inflammatory indicators or fecal calprotectin, the diagnostic recommendations were based on colonoscopy-based methods. Endoscopy (capsule) and especially ileocolonoscopy, fecal calprotectin assay, but no diagnosis is superior to histopathological findings. For treatment, steroid immunosuppressive drugs, mesalazine, budesonide, azathioprine, and sometimes surgery are useful. In cases where the intensity of the lesions is low, the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and acetylsalicylate recommended. However, there is often no need for therapeutic intervention and the lesions may have resolved spontaneously during follow-up. For the diagnosis of silent Crohn's disease, our proposed guideline can be of great help to physicians, as the most available tools are identified in diagnosis, disease monitoring, treatment, and follow-up. We recommend that the effectiveness of this guideline in the diagnosis and treatment of silent Crohn's disease be investigated by other researchers.

Background: Humans are exposed everywhere to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) through water, food, and air. PFASs can alter cellular signals involved in weight homeostasis, particularly those related to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors involved in abiogenesis. Some studies have shown a positive correlation between PFASs and gestational weight gain (GWG), but others have found no correlation. Therefore, the association between PFASs and weight gain in pregnancy was reviewed and meta-analyzed.

Methods: This meta-analysis was approved by the PROSPERO team (CRD42023466602) and presented with a prospective protocol in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Google Scholar and databases such as the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, Science Direct, and ProQuest were searched for English language findings from October 2023 to March 2024.

Results: According to pooled regression coefficients, no significant relationship was observed between GWG values and the levels of all four PFASs, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) (β =0.01 [95% CI = -0.38, -0.36] I² = 71.75%, P = 0.03), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) (β = -0.18 [95% CI = -0.55, -0.19] I² = 36.65%, P = 0.21), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) (β =0.07 [95% CI = -0.27, -0.41] I² = 0.0%, P = 0.74), and perfluorohexane-1-sulphonic acid (PFHxS), (β = -0.10 [95% CI = -0.34, -14] I² = 18.54%, P = 0.293). The results of subgroup analysis based on pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) ≤25 showed only a significant relationship between PFNA plasma level and GWG (β =0.03 [95% CI =0.00, -0.05] I² = 64.96%, P = 0.04). The findings from the subgroup analysis, which was conducted based on a pre-pregnancy body BMI of ≤25, revealed a significant correlation solely between PFNA plasma levels and GWG (β =0.03 [95% CI =0.00, -0.05] I2 = 64.96%, P = 0.04).

Conclusions: Consequently, according to the estimated general regression coefficient, a doubling of the blood PFNA level is associated with an increase in the average GWG by 30 grams. In women with pre-pregnancy BMI >25 kg, no significant relationship between different levels of exposure and GWG was observed. No significant association was observed between major PFASs and weight gain during pregnancy, which may be because the exposure period (gestational length) was not sufficient. Especially as most of the influencing factors were adjusted in majority of the studies included in the meta-analysis. However, further cohort studies with larger sample sizes are needed.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major public health problem that badly affects oral health and overall quality of life. This study aimed to examine oral health problems and associated factors of type 2 DM patients attending governmental primary health centers (PHCs) in the Gaza strip, Palestine.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was applied to 376 patients with type 2 DM selected through systematic random sampling from five randomly selected governmental PHCs. The World Health Organization Decayed, Missing and Filling Tooth (DMFT) index and semistructured questionnaire were used to collect data accordingly. Descriptive and analytical analyses were applied using the using the IBM SPSS for windows version 23, IBM, USA software.

Results: The mean DMFT index is 13.18 ± 6.39, and it is higher among patients having type 2 DM for more than 10 years and with a history of chronic diseases. The mean teeth with loss of attachment are 1.88 ± 0.76 and are higher among males, exsmokers, patients having type 2 DM for more than 10 years, and those with a history of chronic diseases. Gingival bleeding is higher among males and exsmokers. The majority of participants had no periodontitis (160/376; 42.6%). In return, 8.5% (32/376) presents with severe periodontitis. The mean of pocket is higher among patients having uncontrolled DM and type 2 DM <10 years.

Conclusions: Patients with type 2 DM suffer from many oral health problems, especially dental caries, periodontitis and loss of attachment. The findings underscore the significance of early intervention and consistent dental care for people with type 2 DM in order to avert and handle oral health complications. Oral health education campaigns that are effective should be customized to meet the particular cultural, socioeconomic, and healthcare challenges.