Epidemiology of neonatal congenital hypothyroidism during 2011-2017

Introduction: Neonatal hypothyroidism is a condition of treatable thyroid deficiency that can lead to severe retardation if not diagnosed on time or inappropriately treated. The present study is an epidemiologic study of neonatal congenital hypothyroidism in Lordegan during 2012-2018. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed to evaluate the epidemiological characteristics of congenital hypothyroidism. The data were entered into SPSS version 20 software and analyzed by statistical tests, Chi square, ANOVA, T-Test, Pearson Correlation and Spearman Correlation at 0.05 Level. Results: The analysis of 7-years data showed that from the screening of 39332 newborns, 335 were identified as definitive patients, 159 males, 176 females, 275 rural (82.1%) and 169 neonates with a history of family marriage (50.4%). There was a significant relationship between neonatal birth weight and congenital hypothyroidism (P = 0.000). There was a significant relationship between type of delivery and hypothyroidism (P = 0.000). In the treated children, there was a direct relationship between the age of onset of treatment and their TSH level, which was statistically significant (P = 0.013). Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism in Lordegan, it is necessary to study further the factors affecting the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism as well as educate pregnant women and timely screening for this disease. keywords: Congenital Hypothyroidism, Epidemiology, Neonata

Comparative Study of Balance Exercises (Frenkel) and Aerobic Exercises (Walking) on Improving Balance in the Elderly

Introduction: Balance in the elderly is one of the important issues, and imbalance can create irreparable problems for the elderly. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Frenkel balance exercise and aerobic exercise (walking) on improving the balance of elderly patients in Kerman province in 2016-2017. &nbsp; Methods: We used a randomized block design, with 4 participants in each block; 48 elderly men and women living in the nursing homes of Kerman province were randomly assigned to two groups, balance (Frenkel) exercises and aerobic exercises (walking). The two groups performed Frenkel exercises and aerobic exercises (walking) for three 10- to 15-min sessions a week for five weeks. The balance time using the Sharpened Romberg test was recorded to measure static balance and the Get Up and Go test used to measure dynamic balance before and after the exercise program. To describe the variables studied, central tendency indicators and dispersion were used. Paired t-test was used to compare the time of balance before and after intervention and independent t-test to compare changes in balance time between two groups. &nbsp; Results: The mean static balance (with Sharpend R&ouml;mberg test) was increased from 3.16 s to 6.01 s in Frenkel exercise, and from 3.33 s to 4.95 s in aerobic training group, indicating an improvement in the static balance after intervention. The mean time of dynamic balance (in the Get Up and Go test) during Frenkel exercise reduced from 17.07 s to 12.03 s, and during aerobic training from 17.08 s to 10.9 seconds, indicating an improvement in dynamic balance (p < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference in the mean changes in the duration of dynamic and static balance before and after intervention in the two groups. &nbsp; Conclusion: Both Frenkel exercise and walking equally improve static and dynamic balance in the elderly in different settings. &nbsp