Climate Parameter Variability and Health

Over the past 50 years, human activities such as burning fossil fuels have released huge quantities of greenhouse gases, which have trapped additional heat in the lower layers of atmosphere, changed global climate and led to more intense and frequent weather events. The overall health effects of climate change are likely to be extremely negative. Climate change affects social and environmental factors related to health, such as drinking water, food and shelter. It also imposes new disease and mortality on human populations. Extreme high temperatures increase deaths from trauma, diabetes, mental disorders and cardiovascular, respiratory and renal disease. As the number of weather‐related natural disasters increase every year, these disasters result in more deaths and slams the basic living need of people, mainly in developing countries. Intense rainfall and flood, ruin agricultural land, contaminate freshwater supplies, increase the risk of waterborne diseases, and create breeding grounds for disease‐carrying insects and increase the incidence of infectious diseases. All populations will be affected by climate change, but some are more vulnerable than others. Areas with weak health infrastructure, low socioeconomic status and elderly populations especially in developing countries will be the least able to cope with the hazardous effects of climate change

Contamination with Organophosphate Toxins in Humans in Iran: A Systematic Review

Background: Organophosphate toxins are among chemical toxins that are dangerous for human health. Due to the increasing use of organophosphate compounds in a variety of products such as insecticides and pesticides, as well as easy access to these compounds, a systematic review on the related studies taken place in Iran seemed to be necessary. Methods: In this review, databases including Iranmedex, Medline, PubMed, Google Scholar and SID were searched for phrases related to organophosphates in both English and Farsi languages and up to April 2013. Only studies which had measured human contamination to these compounds in Iran were included. Results: Totally, 19 articles were found of which 10 articles met the inclusion criteria. According to these studies, organophosphate poisoning mainly happened due to occupational exposure in workers, inadvertently in children, and for suicide purposes in some reports. Conclusion: It seems that a high percentage of poisonings and deaths from these substances is due to lack of consumer awareness awareness about these chemicals and their complications. Therefore, in order to prevent poisoning it is necessary to educate families and related workers

The Existing Problems in the Tuberculosis Control Program of Iran: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: The TB control program in the world has encountered serious problems because of weakness in case detection, inadequate and improper treatment, drug resistance and the emerging and concurrent epidemic of HIV. Therefore, this qualitative study was conducted in order to gain a deep and better understanding of the problems and to suggest initiatives to improve the situation. Method: A qualitative content analysis study was carried out by semi-structured interviews with key informants of the tuberculosis control program in Iran. Participants were selected by purposeful sampling. The trustworthiness of the study was confirmed by the four criteria of credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability. Data analysis was performed using framework analysis and the main themes and subthemes were identified. Results: Twenty four subthemes and six themes were identified as followings: 1) strategies and policies, 2) characteristics of human resources, 3) quality and quantity of resources, 4) the basis of the methods, 5) coordination and communication and 6) general public participation and social support. Conclusion: Different factors have led to the weakness of the program. In order to improve the current situation and alleviate the problem, it is necessary to improve the processes of diagnosis and treatment, TB reporting system, physician compliance to the National protocol of tuberculosis control, public education, recruitment of TB coordinator physicians, the practice of TB diagnosis laboratory staff and other diagnostic and treatment facilities. Keywords: Tuberculosis, Case finding, Treatment, Qualitative researc

The Relation between Social Security and General Health among Students of Kerman Medical University, Health School

Background: Social security is a feature of psychosocial science which is necessary for people in order to have a healthy life and continue their social relations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation between social security and general health of students. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The sample included 284 students aged 18 to 45 years from the School of Public Health who voluntary participated in the study. In order to collect the data, Social Security and the General Health (GHQ-28) questionnaires were used. Descriptive analyses, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation coefficient, were performed to analyze the data. Results: There was a significant and direct relationship between social security and general health (r=0.231, p<0.001). Also there were significant associations between social security and, older age (P=0.002), male gender (P=0.002), more income (P=0.001), field of study (P=0.031), and type of residing home (P=0.022). Conclusion: Seems like social security is low in people with worse general health, younger age, women, and low income. More research is needed to determine the reason of less social security in students of specific fields. It is also proposed that more research be conducted on the probable factors related to social security. Keywords: Social Security, General Health, University Students, GH

Adsorption of lead by Microalgae Chaetoceros Sp. and Chlorella Sp. from Aqueous Solution

Introduction: Using bio-sorbents is regarded as one of the effective methods to remove heavy metals. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate Pbadsorption from contaminated water by Chaetoceros sp. and Chlorella sp. algae. Materials &Methods: This experimental study was conducted in a batch reactor. The amount of Pbadsorption by Chaetoceros sp. and Chlorella sp. algae was studied under such conditions as different adsorbent dosages (0.2, 0.5, 1.5 and 2 g/L), different pH (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), different temperatures (20, 25, 30, 35, 40 °C), different contact times (30, 60, 90, 180, 360 minutes), different particle sizes (20, 40, 60, 100, 140 mesh) and different Pb concentrations(20, 40, 60 mg/L). Then adsorption isotherms and kinetic models of metal ions were determined based on Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms as well as first and second order kinetic models. Results: The efficiency of Pb removal by Chlorella sp. and Chaetoceros sp. algae was reported 78% and 60% respectively. The maximum adsorption was observed at optimal conditions including 25°C, pH of 6, 180 minutesof contact time, particle size of 20 mesh, 1.5 gr/L of adsorbent and 20 mg/L concentration of Pb.Chlorella algae was observed to remove Pb more than Chaetoceros algae. Based on the study results, Pbadsorption by Chlorella algae complies with Langmuir adsorption isotherm model, whereas Chaetoceros algae follows Freundlich model. The kinetic models of algae adsorption followed a second order equation. Conclusion: The study findings revealed that Chlorella algae can be effectively used in order to adsorb Pb from contaminated water due to its high efficiency of Pb adsorption

The Status of the Surveillance System of Groups at Risk of Tubercolosis in Iran: AQualitative Study

Background: In order to achieve a dynamic surveillance system for the groups at risk of tuberculosis and to improve its quality, investigating its various aspects and benefiting from the opinions of the experts and experienced individuals in this field are very important. Hence, the objective of this study was to explore the status of the surveillance system for the groups at risk of tuberculosis in Iran. Methods: Data collection was carried out via interviews with 17 experts in the tuberculosis control program of Iran. In order to evaluate the validity and reliability of data, four criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability were used. Frame analysis was used for data analysis. Results: Based on the interviewee's opinions, twelve major groups at risk of tuberculosis and seven challenges in the surveillance system were identified. For the majority of these at risk groups, there is no structured program and the status of case finding and treatment is similar to the public population. For some others (HIV/ AIDS patients, prisoners and people at exposure), there is a program, but its effectiveness is uncertain. Conclusion: Results indicate that groups at risk of tuberculosis are widespread and access to some of them is difficult; hence, these groups are the main challenges of the tuberculosis control program in Iran

Does Tuberculosis Have a Seasonal Pattern among Migrant Population Entering Iran?

Background: There are few quantitative documents about the seasonal incidence of tuberculosis (TB) among immigrant populations. Concerning the significant role of recognizing seasonal changes of TB in improving the TB control program, this study determines the trend and seasonal temporal changes of TB among immigrants entering Iran. Methods:In this longitudinal study, data from the Iranian TB register Program (from 2005 to 2011) was used. The aggregated number of monthly and seasonal TB cases was obtained by adding the daily counts. Data was analyzed by Chi-square, Independent T-test, ANOVA, and Poisson regression using Stata 11 and SPSS 20 software. Results: Among 74,155 registered patients with TB, 14.3% (10,587) were non-Iranian who had immigrated to Iran from 29 different countries. The highest aggregated number of seasonal and monthly incidence of TB in immigrants was observed in spring (2824, P= 0.007) and in May (1037, P< 0.001). The number of non-Iranian patients with TB increased significantly over the years (β= 0.016, P= 0.001). Conclusion: This study shows that immigrants constitute a significant portion of TB patients recorded in Iran and this trend is increasing. Also, the peak incidence of this disease is the second month of the spring

The Effect of Air Pollution on Respiratory Disease Visits to the Emergency Department in Kerman, Iran

Background: It is probable that with increase of air pollution, the rate of respiratory disease patient admissions in the emergency departments increases as well. In this study, the effect of air pollution on the rate of admission of patients with respiratory diseases in the emergency department of one of the referral educational hospitals in Kerman, Iran was investigated. Methods: Data of patients with respiratory diseases (asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, emphysema, COPD) admitted in Afzalipour hospital during March 2006 until March 2011 were extracted based on gender and age from the archived files of the emergency department and were compared with air pollution measurements (including fine particles, NO, NO 2 , NO x , SO 2 , CO, O 3 ) inquired from the Kerman Environmental Protection Agency with lags up to 50 days by time series through MiniTab15 and STATA11 software packages. Results: None of the pollutants showed a significant or more than 0.2 correlation with respiratory disease visits to the emergency department, except ozone and SO2. In negative Binomial regression, only SO2 increase was associated with increased visits of female patients IRR= 1.436 (95% CI 1.004-2.051). Conclusion: It is probable that some air pollutants in their current concentrations in Kerman cause increase of respiratory disease patient&amp;#039;s visits to emergency departments. However, more research is needed

The Factors Predicting Quality of Life in Elderly People in Kerman Using PRECEDE Model

Background: As life expectancy and the population of old people increases, quality of life in elderly people becomes more important. The aim of this study was to determine the factors predicting quality of life in elderly people using PRECEDE model. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study. Data were collected using the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)–BREF questionnaire and another questionnaire including 67 questions according to the PRECEDE model components, which its reliability and validity were approved. Multi-stage random sampling method was used in two healthcare centers in Kerman and 80 elderly people were selected. Date were analyzed using linear regression and statistical indices via SPSS 15. Results: The mean age of participants was 67.7±7.1 years old, and most of them were female and married. The quality of life of elderly people was moderate. Among components of the PRECEDE model, knowledge (a component of predisposing factors) and enabling factors were the most significant factors predicting quality of life among the participants (R2 =0.46). Conclusion: According to the results, enabling factors and knowledge (a component of predisposing factors) were identified as the most important factors predicting quality of life. Therefore, more focus on these factors in educational programs for elderly people is recommended

Seroepidemiology of Brucellosis in Cattle Farm and Slaughterhouse Staff in Tehran, 2012

Background: Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease, which is mainly transmitted from animals to human through ingestion of unpasteurized dairy products or direct contact with infected animal secretions. Since the people in contact with animals are considered to be at risk of Brucellosis, the aim of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence of this disease in staff of cattle farms and slaughterhouses in Tehran in 2012. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was performed on 430 staff of cattle farms and slaughterhouses (regular and specialized slaughterhouses for slaughtering animals suspected to brucellosis) in Tehran, 2012. Serum samples were prepared and evaluated through Rose Bengal, Wright, and 2-Mercaptoethanol tests. Demographic information and occupational characteristics of the participants were collected using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Poisson regression via Stata 12. Results: The serologic test for brucellosis were positive in 5 patients and brucellosis seroprevalence rate was 1.16%. All participants in this study were male and 97.4 % of them were Iranian. The participants' mean age was 34.45 ± 9.46 years. The results showed that there was no significant relationship between a positive test and independent variables (including age, education, workplace, dangerous occupational exposure, past dangerous occupational exposure, consumption of unpasteurized dairy products, occupational background, and keeping livestock at home). Conclusion: Continuing implementing prevention programs such as educational programs and using personal protective equipment in at-risk groups are necessary