Maternal weight gain might predict child’s weight at the 12th and 24th months of age in Damavand city, North-East Tehran

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible association between pregnancy weight gain and child weight at the 12th and 24th months of age in Damavand city, North-East Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, using existing data collected by the urban health centers, records of 266 women who attended urban health centers for prenatal care and delivered between March 2004 and March 2008 with singleton term pregnancy were analyzed. Data on pre-pregnancy weight and height, total pregnancy weight gain, mother’s age, parity, neonatal birth weight, birth order, mother’s education, working status, breastfeeding practice and child weight at the 12th and 24th months of age were extracted. Pregnant Women were categorized based on their pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) as underweight, normal, and overweight and obese. Chi-square and ANOVA tests were employed to analyze data using SPSS software. Mean (±SD) of gestational weight gain was 11.4±3.9 kg. On average, 34% of mothers had inadequate weight gain, while 44 and 22% gained appropriate and excessive weight, respectively, based on the US Institute of Medicine (IoM-1990) guidelines. About 11, 56, 20 and 13% of mothers were defined as underweight, normal, overweight, and obese based on their BMI values. Initial BMI and educational level was associated with pregnancy weight gain. There was a significant difference between mean child weight at the 12th and 24th months of ages in all three categories of pregnancy weight gain, i.e. inadequate (<6.8 Kg), normal (6.8–11.3 Kg), and excessive (>11.3 Kg) (p< 0.01). Gestational weight gain seemed associated with child weight. Educating and assisting pregnant women to meet the weight gain within recommendations range might therefore be an important strategy to prevent child malnutrition, both under- and overweight, in early life.

Can current supply figures support the nutritional recommendation of fish consumption in Iran?

   "Fish consumption twice per week" recommendation has been adopted in many countries, including Iran, by Nutrition experts. Data derived from food balance sheets (FBSs) and national household food consumption surveys (NHFCSs) show that fish consumption has been increased in the last 20 years in Iran. The gap between supply and recommendation figures in order to analyze the feasibility of this policy however needs to be determined. In this study, we took current figures of fish supply and consumption in Iran and calculated the amount of fish needed to support the recommendation of fish consumption. Data obtained from FAOSTAT-FBSs in 1980-82, 1990-92 and 2000-02, and NHFCS reports in 1992-95 and 2001-03. Fish supplies needed to fulfill the nutritional policy were calculated based on 120 and 180 gr/caput/wk scenarios. Sharp increase happened in the average fish supply from 1980s to 1990s, but slowed down afterwards. In early 2000, fish availability and intake were 4.73 and 4.43 kg (as raw-whole fish)/capita/year, respectively. The amount of fish required to fulfill the recommendation were however calculated as 10.97 and 16.43 kg/caput/yr based on the two scenarios, respectively. This study reveals that the gap between present fish consumption and the amounts for nutritional goal is still big. Whether bridging this gap in terms of feasibility, ecological, environmental and logistical burdens is attainable, needs more evaluation. Nutrition educators should be aware of the effects of their campaigns on the nationwide food policy as well as on issues such as consumer demand, prices, and environment.

Arsenic intakes from spices and sheep tail (Donbeh) in a high oesophageal cancer area: Pilot study from Iran

Arsenic is a carcinogenic and toxicant element widely found in the environment and might be part of causation web of Oesophageal Cancer (OC), which has one of the highest incidence rates in Golestan Province, Northeast Iran. In this pilot study, we collected 10 Sheep tail (donbeh) and 9 mixed spices samples, as widely consumed foods in the region, from main counties in the province and analyzed for arsenic concentrations using AOAC atomic absorption spectrophotometry method. Findings showed that arsenic levels in all samples were less than the safe level of 1 ppm. Total arsenic intake from sheep tail and mixed spices sources were estimated at 4.68 and 4.24 µg/day in men and women, respectively. Therefore, the study suggests that arsenic intake from these commonly consumed foods do not seem as a major hazard for OC etiology

The Association Between Serum Vitamin D Level and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition, in which triglyceride accumulates in hepatic cells without a history of alcohol consumption and is strongly associated with insulin resistance, obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and dyslipidemia. The potential role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of NAFLD has been reported. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the optimal vitamin D levels for prevention of NAFLD. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 2,160 cases who referred to a university-affiliated health center were randomly selected and their demographic information, anthropometric and metabolic indices and also vitamin D levels were collected. Fatty liver was assessed by fatty liver index (FLI) and confirmed by FibroScan using controlled attenuation parameter (CAP). Based on the NAFLD score, the subjects were divided into two groups and the vitamin D cutoff point was calculated by ROC curve. Results: Based on the results, 745 patients (34.5%) had different degrees of fatty liver. Significant differences in the stiffness of liver tissue were observed between vitamin D categories (285.10 +/- 30.56 for severe, 251.82 +/- 42.63 for moderate and 201.02 +/- 36.08 for mild deficiency). According to the multivariate analysis, age, fasting insulin and vitamin D levels were found as the most significant factors in NAFLD pathogenesis. Vitamin D cutoff point was obtained 18 nmol/L in women and 21 nmol/L in men. Conclusions: The results indicated a significant association between vitamin D level and NAFLD score. Accordingly, increasing the public awareness to maintain a proper level of vitamin D may be a preventative strategy against NAFLD. Keywords Author Keywords:25-Hydroxyvitamin D; Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis; Obesity; Vitamin D Deficiency KeyWords Plus:25-HYDROXYVITAMIN D-3; INSULIN-RESISTANCE; STEATOHEPATITIS; EXPRESSION; SEVERITY; ALPHA; NAFLD; HISTOLOGY; CHILDREN; IMPAC

Can current supply figures support the nutritional recommendation of fish consumption in Iran? A case-study of the challenges in front of a nutrition policy

ABSTRACT "Fish consumption twice per week" recommendation has been adopted in many countries, including Iran, by Nutrition experts. Data derived from food balance sheets (FBSs) and national household food consumption surveys (NHFCSs) show that fish consumption has been increased in the last 20 years in Iran. The gap between supply and recommendation figures in order to analyze the feasibility of this policy however needs to be determined. In this study, we took current figures of fish supply and consumption in Iran and calculated the amount of fish needed to support the recommendation of fish consumption. Data obtained from FAOSTAT-FBSs in 1980-82, 1990-92 and 2000-02, and NHFCS reports in 1992-95 and 2001. Fish supplies needed to fulfill the nutritional policy were calculated based on 120 and 180 gr/caput/wk scenarios. Sharp increase happened in the average fish supply from 1980s to 1990s, but slowed down afterwards. In early 2000, fish availability and intake were 4.73 and 4.43 kg (as raw-whole fish)/capita/year, respectively. The amount of fish required to fulfill the recommendation were however calculated as 10.97 and 16.43 kg/caput/yr based on the two scenarios, respectively. This study reveals that the gap between present fish consumption and the amounts for nutritional goal is still big. Whether bridging this gap in terms of feasibility, ecological, environmental and logistical burdens is attainable, needs more evaluation. Nutrition educators should be aware of the effects of their campaigns on the nationwide food policy as well as on issues such as consumer demand, prices, and environment

Relationship between Using Detergents and the Risk of Ulcerative Colitis in Mazandaran, Iran 2014-17

Background and purpose: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of mucosal inflammatory problems affecting the small or large intestine. Since last century, the incidence of IBD has been constantly increasing, afflicting the majority of urban population in developed societies. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between using detergents and the risk of ulcerative colitis (UC). Materials and methods: In this case-control trial, 65 patients with new-onset UC and 135 healthy people were examined during 2014-17 in Sari Imam Khomeinin Hospital. Demographic features and information about exposure to detergents and bleaches were recorded using a researceher-made questionnaire. SPSS V20 was used to investigate the association between exposure to detergents and development of UC and the logistic regression model was used to adjust for potential confounding factors. Results: According to findings, gender (P= 0.012), age (P= 0.009), job (P<0.001), and using detergents (P<0.001) were associated with UC. Compared to those who were occasional consumers of detergents, the chances of UC, after adjustment for potential confounding factors such as gender, age, and job, were 4, 23, 26, and 104 times higher in patients who used detergents monthly, every other week, weekly, and daily, respectively. Conclusion: Frequent exposure to detergents can be among the factors influencing the development of UC

Food co-consumption network as a new approach to dietary pattern in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract Dietary patterns strongly correlate with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is a leading cause of chronic liver disease in developed societies. In this study, we introduce a new definition, the co-consumption network (CCN), which depicts the common consumption patterns of food groups through network analysis. We then examine the relationship between dietary patterns and NAFLD by analyzing this network. We selected 1500 individuals living in Tehran, Iran, cross-sectionally. They completed a food frequency questionnaire and underwent scanning via the FibroScan for liver stiffness, using the CAP score. The food items were categorized into 40 food groups. We reconstructed the CCN using the Spearman correlation-based connection. We then created healthy and unhealthy clusters using the label propagation algorithm. Participants were assigned to two clusters using the hypergeometric distribution. Finally, we classified participants into two healthy NAFLD networks, and reconstructed the gender and disease differential CCNs. We found that the sweet food group was the hub of the proposed CCN, with the largest cliques of size 5 associated with the unhealthy cluster. The unhealthy module members had a significantly higher CAP score (253.7 ± 47.8) compared to the healthy module members (218.0 ± 46.4) (P < 0.001). The disease differential CCN showed that in the case of NAFLD, processed meat had been co-consumed with mayonnaise and soft drinks, in contrast to the healthy participants, who had co-consumed fruits with green leafy and yellow vegetables. The CCN is a powerful method for presenting food groups, their consumption quantity, and their interactions efficiently. Moreover, it facilitates the examination of the relationship between dietary patterns and NAFLD

A convenient one-pot synthesis of thiopyrano[4,3-<i>b</i>]pyran derivatives under LiOH·H₂O/EtOH/ultrasonic conditions

<p>Various derivatives of thiopyrano[4,3-<i>b</i>]pyran structure are synthesized via a multicomponent procedure starting from tetrahydro-4<i>H</i>-thiopyran-4-one, aromatic aldehydes, and malononitrile. Reactions take place by the use of catalytic quantities of LiOH·H₂O in one pot under ultrasonic conditions and in an ethanolic medium. Isolation of products occurs by spontaneous precipitation in reaction mixtures and no cumbersome and expensive chromatographic separations are needed.</p