Obesity and hypertension in an Iranian cohort study; Iranian women experience higher rates of obesity and hypertension than American women

BACKGROUND: Once considered as the main public health problem in developed countries, obesity has become a major problem throughout the world and developing countries, like Iran, are joining the global obesity pandemic. We determined the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and hypertension in a large cohort of Iranians and compared age-adjusted rates with the rates in the US. METHODS: Golestan Cohort Study is a population-based study of 8,998 men and women, aged 35-81 years, from urban and rural areas. Anthropometric parameters were measured by interviewers. Prevalence rates were directly adjusted to the 2000 United States standard population. RESULTS: The age-adjusted prevalence rates of overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) in this Iranian population were 62.2% and 28.0%, respectively. Both overweight and obesity were more common in women than men. Age-adjusted prevalence of overweight was significantly higher in Iranian women compared to the American women (68.6% vs. 61.6%), while the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity is closer in these two populations (34.9% vs. 33.2%). Iranian men—compared to American men—had significantly lower age-adjusted prevalence of overweight (53.7% vs. 68.8%) and obesity (16.2% vs. 27.5%). Age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension was higher in Iranian women than American women (35.7% vs. 30.5%). Diabetes mellitus was reported in 6.2% of participants. Mean waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) among women was 0.96. Smoking rates in men and women were 33.2% and 2.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of obesity, overweight, and hypertension in Iran is as high as the US. However, Iranian women are more obese than American women and Iranian men are less obese than their American counterparts. This discrepancy might be due to the low rate of smoking among Iranian women. Iranian women have higher mean WHR than what WHO has defined in 19 other populations

The burden of diabetes mellitus during pregnancy in low- and middle-income countries : a systematic review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A questionnaire for determining prevalence of diabetes related foot disease (Q-DFD): construction and validation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Community based prevalence for diabetes related foot disease (DRFD) has been poorly quantified in Australian populations. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a survey tool to facilitate collection of community based prevalence data for individuals with DRFD via telephone interview.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Agreed components of DRFD were identified through an electronic literature search. Expert feedback and feedback from a population based construction sample were sought on the initial draft. Survey reliability was tested using a cohort recruited through a general practice, a hospital outpatient clinic and an outpatient podiatry clinic. Level of agreement between survey findings and either medical record or clinical assessment was evaluated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The Questionnaire for Diabetes Related Foot Disease (Q-DFD) comprised 12 questions aimed at determining presence of peripheral sensory neuropathy (PN) and peripheral vascular disease (PVD), based on self report of symptoms and/or clinical history, and self report of foot ulceration, amputation and foot deformity. Survey results for 38 from 46 participants demonstrated agreement with either clinical assessment or medical record (kappa 0.65, sensitivity 89.0%, and specificity 77.8%). Correlation for individual survey components was moderate to excellent. Inter and intrarater reliability and test re-test reliability was moderate to high for all survey domains.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The development of the Q-DFD provides an opportunity for ongoing collection of prevalence estimates for DRFD across Australia.</p

Contribution of type 2 diabetes associated loci in the Arabic population from Tunisia: a case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Candidate gene and genome-wide association studies have both reproducibly identified several common Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) that confer type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk in European populations. Our aim was to evaluate the contribution to T2D of five of these established T2D-associated loci in the Arabic population from Tunisia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A case-control design comprising 884 type 2 diabetic patients and 513 control subjects living in the East-Center of Tunisia was used to analyze the contribution to T2D of the following SNPs: E23K in <it>KCNJ11/Kir6.2</it>, K121Q in <it>ENPP1</it>, the -30G/A variant in the pancreatic β-cell specific promoter of Glucokinase, rs7903146 in <it>TCF7L2 </it>encoding transcription factor 7-like2, and rs7923837 in <it>HHEX </it>encoding the homeobox, hematopoietically expressed transcription factor.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>TCF7L2</it>-rs7903146 T allele increased susceptibility to T2D (OR = 1.25 [1.06–1.47], <it>P </it>= 0.006) in our study population. This risk was 56% higher among subjects carrying the TT genotype in comparison to those carrying the CC genotype (OR = 1.56 [1.13–2.16], <it>P </it>= 0.002). No allelic or genotypic association with T2D was detected for the other studied polymorphisms.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In the Tunisian population, <it>TCF7L2</it>-rs7903146 T allele confers an increased risk of developing T2D as previously reported in the European population and many other ethnic groups. In contrast, none of the other tested SNPs that influence T2D risk in the European population was associated with T2D in the Tunisian Arabic population. An insufficient power to detect minor allelic contributions or genetic heterogeneity of T2D between different ethnic groups can explain these findings.</p

2009-2000 ‫سنوات،‬ ‫عرش‬ ‫مدى‬ ‫عىل‬ ‫دراسة‬ ‫البحرين:‬ ‫يف‬ ‫للطفل‬ ‫اجلسدي‬ ‫اإليذاء‬

ABSTRACT To improve the understanding of child physical abuse, assess its magnitude, and identify the presentations and the characteristics of the victims, their families and the offenders, we carried out a retrospective review of 237 child physical abuse cases evaluated over 10 years (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009) in a tertiary hospital in Bahrain. Mean age of the children was 7 years, 58% were males. The annual number of reported cases increased from 11 in 2000 to 54 in 2009. Skin manifestations were seen in 59.0%, fractures in 10.5% and head injuries in 9.7%. The perpetrators were adults (89%), males (64%) and known to the child (98%). Referral to law enforcement was made in 48% of the cases. About 10% of the children were removed from the abusive environment. The increase in reported cases of child physical abuse calls for strengthening of child protection services. RÉSUMÉ Pour accroître les connaissances sur la violence physique infligée à l&apos;enfant, évaluer l&apos;ampleur du phénomène, relever les présentations des victimes et les caractéristiques de ces dernières ainsi que celles de leur famille et des agresseurs, nous avons mené un examen rétrospectif de 237 cas de violence physique infligés à l&apos;enfant, évalués sur dix ans (2000-2009) dans un hôpital de soins tertiaires à Bahreïn. L&apos;âge moyen des enfants était sept ans, et 58 % étaient de sexe masculin. Le nombre annuel de cas notifiés est passé de 11 en 2000 à 54 en 2009. Des manifestations cutanées ont été observées dans 59,0 % des cas, des fractures dans 10,5 % des cas et des blessures à la tête dans 9,7 %. Les agresseurs étaient des adultes (89 %), de sexe masculin (64 %) et étaient connus de l&apos;enfant (98 %). La police a été contactée dans 48 % des cas. Environ 10 % des enfants ont été soustraits de l&apos;environnement violent où ils vivaient. L&apos;augmentation des cas notifiés de violence physique infligée à l&apos;enfant appelle un renforcement des services de protection en la matière