Iranian Journal of Public Health最新文献

Background: Obesity is an epidemic non-communicable disease in South Africa (SA). Few data exist on rural schoolchildren. This study presented the association between paediatric obesity, anthropometric parameters and physiological traits in schoolchildren in the Alice Location of Raymond Mhlaba Municipality, South Africa.

Methods: The sum of 305 schoolchildren including girls 146; boys 159 between 5 - 7 years old were enrolled. Body mass index (BMI) specific for gender and age was used to describe overweight and obesity. Systolic/Diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) was ≥ 90^th percentile for gender and age. An aneroid sphygmomanometer was used to measure blood pressure (BP).

Results: 15.75% of girls were overweight compared to 10.69% of boys while 16.35% of boys were obese compared to 10.27% of girls. Pre-hypertension was detected in both girls (2.0%) and boys (0.3%). SBP and DBP were significantly (P<0.05) associated with body mass, stature, BMI, hip and waist circumference (HC & WC), the sum of skinfolds, fat-mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), and fat-free mass index (FFMI).

Conclusion: Overweight, obesity and pre-hypertension are predominant amongst rural SA schoolchildren living in Alice location. Routine check-up and control of excessive weight gain in schoolchildren is crucial for early prevention of potential cardiovascular diseases in the future.

Background: Background: Hepatitis virus infections are among the serious emerging health issues. They are the primary causes of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Growing evidence shows a link between certain genomic variations and inflammation including viral infection such as HBV and HCV. Therefore, this study aimed to comprehensively review studies that analyze the effect of host genomic variations on the risk of contracting viral hepatitis in Iranian population.

Methods: The study was conducted according to the PRISMA Statement. All Persian and English case-control articles published until the beginning of June 2023 were included in the study. Two authors reviewed the articles independently. The third author reviewed the final results. Pathway analysis and protein interactions were also performed using GO and STRING databases.

Results: Seventy relevant studies were retrieved. Fifty-three studies examined the association of SNPs with the risk of HBV infection. In terms of genetic variations, 25 genes and 44 SNPs were identified. Tumor necrosis factor alpha, Interleukin 28B, and Interleukin 10 were the most prevalent considered genes. The most common polymorphisms were in the interleukin family. Moreover, the top five identified molecular functions were cytokine activity, cytokine receptor binding, molecular function regulator, protein binding, and signaling receptor binding.

Conclusion: The polymorphisms of genes involved in the production of immune factors, cytokines, interleukins, and their receptors are associated with the risk of HBV and HCV infections in the Iranian population. Moreover, the extracellular and intracellular signaling pathways and the regulating molecules of these processes can be considered as important factors in liability for these viral infections.

Background: WeChat public platform has become an important source for the public to obtain health information. We aimed to explore the key factors affecting users' willingness to adopt health information and their action mechanisms.

Methods: From April 2023 to May 2023, the users of WeChat public platforms were surveyed via online questionnaires, and the factors influencing users' willingness to adopt health information and their action mechanisms were analyzed using quantitative statistics and structural equation model (SEM).

Results: The influencing factors of users' willingness to adopt health information in WeChat public platforms could be divided into the following three dimensions: health belief, information, and platform. Perceived benefits, perceived threats, information quality, source credibility, and platform atmosphere all have significantly positive effects on information adoption willingness. Among them, information quality also positively affects users' perceived benefits; perceived barriers negatively affect the willingness to adopt information.

Conclusion: Through the analysis of the influencing factors of users' willingness to adopt health information in WeChat public platforms, it could provide reference for enhancing the public health information service capability of WeChat public platforms and elevating the health self-management level of the public.

Background: Reducing the under-five child mortality is vital to a nation's development; global progress has been made in the past two decades. Nevertheless, substantial efforts in the Sub-Saharan Africa region are required to address critical risk factors to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. We aimed to identify the impact of socio-economic, demographic, and geographic factors on under-five child mortality in Kenya.

Methods: This study utilized data from the 2022 Kenyan Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS). We extracted mortality data for children under the age of five and demographic, socio-economic, and household/geographic factors.

Results: Overall, 19,530 children under the age of five yr were included, with 9,950 (50.95%) males and 9,580 (49.05%) females. Amongst children, 18,836 (96.45%) were alive and 694 (3.55%) were dead. Study findings revealed a significant association between the mother's age and the child's death. Mothers aged between 15 and 19 yr of age indicate higher odds of child death. The odds of death of children not breastfed is 1.69 times that of other children. Mothers who had no child above five years old previously had higher odds of child mortality than those with at least three children above five years old.

Conclusion: Under-five child mortality is significantly associated with breastfeeding, the mother's age, and mothers who had a child previously in Kenya. The identified significant determinants align well with the SDG 2030 targets of improving socio-economic status, healthcare systems and reducing inequality. Therefore, the study suggests that preventing underaged women's pregnancy, proper maternal nutrition among pregnant women, and breastfeeding should be practiced as they are more likely to reduce under-five child mortality.

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the most common parasitic diseases in many regions of Iran. It has a major role in deprived societies. We aimed to identify Leishmania species based on molecular as ITS1-rDNA-PCR internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) region, microscopy, and culture techniques in diagnosing cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Methods: From April 2018 to May 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional study involving 32 patients with suspected CL lesions in Sistan and Baluchistan Province, located in southeast Iran. Samples were subjected to microscopic examination, culture, and PCR amplification targeting the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) region. DNA sequencing was performed on PCR-positive samples for species identification and phylogenetic analysis.

Results: PCR demonstrated superior sensitivity (93.75%, 30/32) compared to culture (56.25%, 18/32) and microscopic examination (53.1%, 17/32). Molecular analysis revealed that L. major was the predominant causative agent of CL in the study area, with L. tropica occurring less frequently. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the ITS1 region showed high intraspecies similarity among L. tropica isolates, while L. major isolates exhibited greater genetic diversity.

Conclusion: This study shows the co-existence of L. major and L. tropica in Mirjaveh, southeast Iran, with L. major as the primary cause. While L. tropica isolates displayed high genetic similarity, L. major samples were more diverse, indicating different epidemiological patterns. These findings highlight the importance of molecular methods for accurately identifying Leishmania species and understanding CL epidemiology in the region.

Background: M6A RNA methylation and the tumor microenvironment (TME) have been reported to play important roles in the progression and prognosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). However, whether m6A RNA methylation regulators affect the TME in ccRCC remains unknown. Thus, we aimed to evaluate comprehensively the effect of m6A RNA methylation regulators on the TME in ccRCC.

Methods: Transcriptome data of ccRCC were obtained from TCGA database. Consensus clustering analysis was conducted based on the expression of m6A RNA methylation regulators. Survival differences were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis between the clusters. The DESeq2 package was used to analyze the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the clusters. GO and KEGG pathway analyses were performed by the ClusterProfiler R package. The CIBERSORT algorithm was used to evaluate immune infiltration.

Results: The expression of 15 m6A regulators significantly differed between ccRCC and normal kidney tissues. Based on the expression of these 15 m6A regulators, two clusters were identified by consensus clustering, in which cluster 1 had better overall survival (OS). Overall, 4,429 DEGs were identified between the two clusters and were enriched in immune-related biological processes. Cluster 1 had lower immune and ESTIMATE scores, higher expression of HLA and lower expression of immune checkpoint molecules. Moreover, immune infiltration and expressions of Th1/IFNγ gene signature were also significantly different between the two clusters.

Conclusion: Our study revealed m6A regulators were important participants in the development of ccRCC, with a close relationship with the TME.

Background: Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRMSDs) are prevalent and costly diseases in military occupations. WRMSDs are prevalent and costly diseases in military occupations. We investigated the exposure to ergonomic risk factors and the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among military personnel in the workplace.

Method: We aimed to investigate MSDs by conducting electronic searches on Persian databases such as SID, MagIran, and IranMedex, and English databases like PubMed, Web of Sciences, and Scopus. The search was not restricted by time and was conducted until Dec 20, 2021. Two researchers independently extracted the data, and the quality of the research was evaluated using the STROBE checklist. The results of different studies were merged and incorporated into the analysis using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) v3 software.

Results: Eleven qualitative studies found that 92% of the respondents were men (83% to 96%). The mean age was 34.17 ± 0.16 yr, with a confidence interval (of 95% CI:33.85-34.48). The mean BMI was 25±0.39 with a confidence interval of 95% CI:24.28-25.84. The mean work record was 12.89±0.81 yr with a confidence interval of 95% CI:11.30-11.48. The highest outbreak of MSDs is in the knee at 38.1% (95%CI:32.1-44.4), 37.6% of the neck (95% CI:24.8-52.5), and 32.5% of the shoulder. (95%CI:22.5-44.3) was observed.

Conclusion: The wide role of various dimensions of work tasks and repetitive tasks (such as lifting, moving or changing positions, standing for long periods, as well as improper postures) in causing WRMSDs. Additionally, the risk factor in the workplace has financial implications for the military organization. The reduction of physical and psychological demands, as well as the improvement of ergonomic standards in the workplace, should be addressed to decrease MSDs in military centers.