Epidemiology of Tuberculosis in Iran (2001-08)

Background and Objective: The characterization of any disease have important role for the evaluation and control strategy and programming of diseases. This study was done to determine the epidemiology of Tuberculosis in Iran during 2001-08. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross sectional study, Annual percentage change (APC), average annual percentage change (AAPC) of Tuberculosis incidence rate, mortality of Tuberculosis, case detection rate, success percentage in Tuberculosis treatment and relapses cases during 2001-08 have been studied in Iran. Linear segmented regression model was used for analysis trend of Tuberculosis and estimate parameters. Results: The trend of Tuberculosis smear positive (SP) incidence rate was reduced in Iran during 2001-08. Anually, 4.1% and 3.6% reduction took place in incidence rate and relapses cases, respectively. Tuberculosis mortality decreased annually by 6.8% and success in case detection increased by 2.5%. The Tuberculosis treatment though AAPC is decreasing by 0.5%. The trend of Tuberculosis are higher among women and in both sexes over 65 years of age. Conclusion: This study showed that trend of SP pulmonary tuberculosis and treatment success rate is decreased, but case detection was increased

Investigation of the Epidemiology of Brucellosis and Its Associated Risk Factors in Qom Province (2001-2011)

Background: Brucellosis is always considered a health problem in Iran. Since this disease is endemic in urban and rural areas in Qom province, this study was done to investigate epidemiology of brucellosis and its associated risk factors during 2001-2011. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was done, demographic and epidemiological data on patients with brucellosis were obtained from the medical records in Qom province Health Center during 2001-2011. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software version 17. Results: The mean incidence rate of brucellosis was 10.8 per 100000 people during 2001-2011. The greatest incidence was in 2004 (17.4 per 100000 people), whereas the lowest incidence was in 2009 (4.2 per 100000 people). Taking occupational exposure into account, the female household keepers, ranchers, farmers and students had the highest cases of brucellosis. The most age group was 20–29 years. The majority of patients had Wright test titer= 1:320 and 2ME titer = 1:160 in serology titration. Conclusion: the trend of brucellosis no specific pattern in Qom province in this period. This province is one of the regions with low incidence of brucellosis (1-27.7 per 100,000). In addition to agriculturists and dairy farmers, housewives and children are also at the risk of this disease

An Epidemiological Study of Accidents in a Construction Industry: A Case-Control Study

Background and Objectives: Despite science and technology development and their application in various industries, accidents continue to occur in many workplaces. This study was designed and carried out with the aim of epidemiological survey of accident among workers of a tunneling industry. Methods: This study was conducted on 144 out of a total of 440 employees of a tunneling project who were at risk of occupational accidents. 48 workers with a history of occupational accident over the past two years were selected as case group and 96 workers of the same project were selected as control group. The data were collected through a designed checklist and analyzed using logistic regression, chi-square and independent t tests. Results: A significant association was observed between accident rate and different age groups (p<0.05). There was a significant relationship (p=0.016) in the case of sport activities between case and control groups, and significant relationships were observed between two groups regarding education (p=0.057) and smoking (p=0.06), but there was no significant relationships between accident occurrence with marital status, residence in workplace, job related education, job experience, chronic diseases and obesity. Conclusion: The results of this study clarify the necessity of the use of epidemiological data in preventive and control measures in workplaces. Therefore, Developing programs for determination of physical and mental capacity of workers are essential to employ them in jobs commensurate with their abilities, especially in older workers