Prevalence of anemia and correlated factors in the reproductive age women in rural areas of tabas.

Objective: To find out the prevalence and relationship of anemia in reproductive age women in rural area of Tabas, center of Iran. Iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional problem, affecting about 41.8% of pregnant and 30.2% of non-pregnant women worldwide. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the random sample of 382 reproductive age women in rural areas of Tabas in March 2010. Independent sample t-test, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and logistic regression were applied for the data analysis. Results: The obtained data revealed a total response rate of 13.8% for prevalence of anemia, while 14.5% and 5.9% belonged to non-pregnant and pregnant participants, respectively. Low socioeconomic status (odds ratio 3.35) and high parity index (odds ratio 2.31) were associated with higher prevalence of anemia. Conclusion: Although this study was conducted in a rural area of Tabas, where their average incomes were lower than average income of major cities in Iran, the prevalence of anemia was lower than the rate reported in previous studies carried out in other locations of Iran, even in high risk (pregnant women) groups

Smaller volumes of the cornu ammonis (CA1 and CA3) may be a biological endophenotype for suicide risk in mood disorders

Mood disorders and suicidal behavior have moderate heritability and are associated with smaller hippocampal volumes. However, it is unclear whether these alterations reflect heritable risk or epigenetic effects of childhood, compensatory mechanisms, or illness-related changes. We sought to separate effects on hippocampal substructure volumes due to mood disorder, suicidal behavior, and risk and resilience to both by examining high familial risk individuals (HR) who have passed through the age of greatest risk for psychopathology onset. Structural brain imaging and advanced hippocampal substructure segmentation quantified cornu ammonis (CA1-4), dentate gyrus, and subiculum volumes in healthy volunteers (HV, N=25) and three groups with one or more relatives with early-onset mood disorder and suicide attempt: 1. unaffected HR (N=20); 2. HR with lifetime mood disorder and no suicide attempt (HR-MOOD, N=25); and 3. HR-MOOD+SA with mood disorder and a previous suicide attempt (N=18). Findings were tested in two independent cohorts not selected for family history (HV, MOOD, and MOOD+SA, total N=199). Lower CA1 and CA3 volumes were found in both HR-MOOD+SA and in HR as compared to HV, suggesting a biological endophenotype for suicide risk and mood disorder. No group differences were observed in MOOD+SA or MOOD vs. HV, suggesting the effects are associated with familial risk for, but not previous, suicide attempt and mood disorder. Our findings suggest familial suicide risk may be mediated in part by smaller CA1 and CA3 volumes. The structures may serve as therapeutic targets for suicide prevention strategies in high risk families

Ventral prefrontal serotonin 1A receptor binding: a neural marker of vulnerability for mood disorder and suicidal behavior?

BACKGROUND: Mood disorders and suicidal behavior have moderate heritability and are associated with altered corticolimbic serotonin 1A receptor (5-HT1A) binding potential. However, it is unclear whether these alterations reflect heritable risk or epigenetic effects of childhood, compensatory mechanisms, or illness-related changes. We sought to separate effects on 5-HT1A binding due to mood disorder, suicidal behavior, and risk and resilience to both by examining high familial risk individuals (HR) who have passed through the age of greatest risk for psychopathology onset. METHODS: PET imaging quantified 5-HT1A binding potential BPND using [11C]CUMI-101 in healthy volunteers (HV, N=23) and three groups with one or more relatives with early-onset mood disorder and suicide attempt: 1. unaffected HR (N=23); 2. HR with lifetime mood disorder and no suicide attempt (HR-MOOD, N=26); and 3. HR-MOOD with previous suicide attempt (HR-MOOD+SA, N=20). Findings were tested in two independent cohorts of low risk individuals (HV, MOOD, and MOOD+SA, total N=185). We tested for regional BPND differences and whether brain-wide patterns distinguished between groups. RESULTS: Low ventral prefrontal 5-HT1A BPND in MOOD+SA was found across three independent cohorts. Brain-wide 5-HT1A BPND patterns distinguished HR-MOOD+SA from HV. An endophenotype associated with familial risk was not observed. CONCLUSIONS: Low ventral prefrontal 5-HT1A BPND may reflect suicide-related pathology. Further studies are needed to determine if higher ventral prefrontal 5-HT1A BPND confers resilience for developing suicidal behavior in the context of mood disorders. If so, it could be a potential suicide prevention target

Brain 5-HT1A Receptor PET Binding, Cortisol Responses to Stress, and the Familial Transmission of Suicidal Behavior

Serotonin 1A (5-HT1A) receptor has been implicated in depression and suicidal behavior. Lower resting cortisol levels are associated with higher 5-HT1A receptor binding, and both differentiate suicide attempters. However, it is not clear whether 5-HT1A receptor binding and cortisol responses to stress are related to risk and resilience for suicidal behavior. [11C]CUMI-101 PET imaging to quantify regional brain 5-HT1A receptor binding was conducted in high-risk individuals, having a first or second degree relative(s) with an early onset mood disorder and history of suicidal behavior, and subdivided into: high-risk resilient having no mood disorder or suicidal behavior (HR-R, n=29); high-risk with mood disorder (HR-MOOD n=31); and high-risk with mood disorder and suicidal behavior (HR-SA/MOOD, n=25). Groups were compared to healthy volunteers (HV, n=34). Participants underwent the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST). We observed no group differences in 5-HT1A receptor binding considering all regions simultaneously, nor did we observe heterogeneity of the effect of group across regions. These results were similar across outcome measures (BPND and BPp in a subset of the sample), and definitions of regions of interest (ROIs; standard or serotonin-specific ROIs). We also found no group differences on TSST outcomes. Within HR-SA/MOOD, lower BPp binding [=-0.084, Standard Error or SE=0.038, p=0.048] and higher cortisol reactivity to stress [=9.25, 95% CI (3.27,15.23), p=0.004] were associated with higher lethality attempts. There were no significant relationships between 5-HT1A binding and cortisol outcomes. In conclusion, 5-HT1A receptor binding in ROIs was not linked to familial risk or resilience protecting against suicidal behavior or mood disorder although it may be related to lethality of suicide attempt. Future studies are needed to better understand the biological mechanisms implicated in familial risk for suicidal behavior and how HPA axis function influences such risk