The High Prevalence of Osteoporosis as a Preventable Disease: The Need for Greater Attention to Prevention Programs in Iran

LETTE

Socioeconomic status and health literacy as the important predictors of general health in Iran: a structural equation modeling approach

Background: We aimed to determine the level of health literacy (HL), and its association with general health. In addition, we investigated the direct and indirect association of socioeconomic status (SES) and general health among the adult population in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 750 literate adults' people. The SES was assessed based on the owning of assets. HL was evaluated using a validated questionnaire in Iran. General health was assessed using the WHO general health questionnaire. The simple and adjusted linear regression models, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used for data analysis. Results: In adjusted model, female gender, higher level of education, use of books, pamphlets, or brochures as a source of health information, the higher level of SES were positively associated with higher HL. In addition, the HL was significantly associated with higher scores of general health. Results of SEM showed that the direct effect of SES on general health was not significant, but the indirect effect via HL was significant (path coefficient: 0.24; p<0.001). Conclusion: Results of our study indicated HL is strongly associated with general health among the adult population. SES had a significant indirect association with general health via the effect on health literacy

Prevalence of the Skipping Breakfast among the Iranian Students: A Review Article

Background: Adolescence is an important period since the establishment of dietary pattern can also affect the adulthood. This study aimed to estimate the overall prevalence of skipping breakfast among Iranian students. Methods: The international and national databases, including Medline, Scopus, Science Direct, Embase, Web of sciences, Google Scholar, MagIran, and SID were searched 1945-2016 as per case. All studies addressing the prevalence of skipping breakfast among Iranian students were extracted. Results: Out of 322 records, 24 articles remained for meta-analysis. The total pooled prevalence of skipping the breakfast was 0.216 (95% CI: 0.213-0.22), the girls had a higher percentage for skipping breakfast compared with boys (26% vs. 18%). Conclusion: Skipping breakfast is more prevalent in girls. Interventions are required to promote breakfast consumption in the targeted Iranian students, especially the girls

Accuracy of Ultrasonography in Diagnosis of Shoulder Dislocation: A Systematic Review

Context: This meta-analysis of clinical trials was conducted to compare the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in comparison to plain radiography in shoulder dislocation. Evidence acquisition: MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, clinicaltrials.gov, Google scholar, and Scopus were searched for clinical trials. Diagnosis of shoulder dislocation and confirmation of shoulder reduction were the outcomes of interest. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of included clinical trials were calculated.  Results: Seven studies met our inclusion criteria and were analyzed. All included studies except two had a sensitivity and specificity of 100% for ultrasound (one with a sensitivity of 54% and one with a specificity of 60%). Conclusion: It can be suggested that ultrasound can be used as a reliable alternative diagnostic method for detection of both dislocation and reduction in shoulder joint. This may decrease the delay in treatment, cost, radiation exposure, and need for repeated sedation

Quality of Cohort Studies Reporting Post the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement

The quality of reporting of cohort studies published in the most prestigious scientific medical journals was investigated to indicate to what extent the items in the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist are addressed. Six top scientific medical journals with high impact factor were selected including New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Lancet, British Medical Journal, Archive of Internal Medicine, and Canadian Medical Association Journal. Ten cohort studies published in 2010 were selected randomly from each journal. The percentage of items in the STROBE checklist that were addressed in each study was investigated. The total percentage of items addressed by these studies was 69.3 (95% confidence interval: 59.6 to 79.0). We concluded that reporting of cohort studies published in the most prestigious scientific medical journals is not clear enough yet. The reporting of other types of observational studies such as case-control and cross-sectional studies particularly those being published in less prestigious journals expected to be much more imprecise

The global prevalence of dental healthcare needs and unmet dental needs among adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Access to dental healthcare services is a major determinant of dental health in communities. This meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the global prevalence of dental needs and of unmet dental needs in adolescents. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched in June 2018. The summary measures included the prevalence of met and unmet dental needs. A meta-analysis was performed using the inverse variance method to obtain pooled summary measures. Out of 41,661 retrieved articles, 57 were ultimately included. RESULTS: The pooled prevalence of orthodontic treatment needs was 46.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 38.0 to 53.0), that of general treatment needs was 59.0% (95% CI, 42.0 to 75.0), that of periodontal treatment needs was 71.0% (95% CI, 46.0 to 96.0), and that of malocclusion treatment needs was 39.0% (95% CI, 28.0 to 50.0). The pooled prevalence of unmet dental needs was 34.0% (95% CI, 27.0 to 40.0). CONCLUSIONS: The highest and lowest prevalence of unmet dental needs were found in Southeast Asia and Europe, respectively. The prevalence of dental needs was higher in the countries of the Americas and Europe than in other World Health Organization (WHO) regions. The prevalence of unmet dental needs was higher in Southeast Asia and Africa than in other WHO regions. KEYWORDS: Adolescent; Dental health services; Meta-analysis; Prevalenc

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Regarding HIV and TB Among Homeless People in Tehran, Iran

Abstract Background: Homeless people are at high risk of HIV and tuberculosis (TB) infection due to living in poor sanitary conditions and practicing high-risk behavior. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of homeless people in Tehran regarding TB and HIV. Methods: Using a convenience sampling, we performed a cross-sectional study on homeless people in Tehran from June to August 2012. Participants aged 18-60 years having at least 10 days of homelessness in the preceding month to the study period were included. All required data were collected through face-to-face interviews conducted using a researcherdesigned questionnaire. Each score in KAP of TB and HIV was separately divided by the maximum score and multiplied by 100 to attain percentage scores. The mean scores were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and student’s t test. A Tukey test was used for post hoc analysis and two-by-two comparisons. Results: In this study, 593 participants consisting of 513 men and 80 women were included. The mean age of the participants was 41.74 ± 0.45 years. Moreover, the total mean score of KAP toward HIV was 79.24 (95% CI: 77.36, 81.12), 57.13 (95% CI: 55.12, 59.14), and 21.14 (95% CI: 18.35, 23.93), respectively. The total mean score of knowledge and practice regarding TB was 62.04 (95% CI: 59.94, 64.14) and 42.57 (95% CI: 40.36, 44.78), respectively. Conclusion: Although a relatively acceptable knowledge was detected in this high-risk population, practices regarding TB and HIV showed some weaknesses. Developing special programs to improve the healthy behavior of this population is highly recommended

Prevalence of Multidrug Resistance Mycobacterium Bovis in Human: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction: Human infection with multidrug resistant mycobacterium bovis (MDR-M.bovis) is very rare.  Recently, infection with this type of bacteria has been described. The WHO strategy to end TB by 2035, recall for more efforts in the diagnosis and treatment of mycobacterium bovis particularly in resource limited countries. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the prevalence of multidrug resistant tuberculosis M.bovis infects human. Methods: International database including Medline, EMBASE, and Web of Sciences, Scopus, and ScienceDirect were searched for related literature. Google Scholar searching engines as well as references list were explored. Studies met the inclusion criteria were included in the systematic review. Random effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence. Results: A total number of (4275) studies were retrieved and nine studies were included in the meta analysis. The overall estimated prevalence of the multidrug resistant Mycobacterium bovis was 0.04 (95% CI: 0.02, 0.06). Based one study quality, time and area of study, subgroup analysis were conducted to check for heterogeneity. The prevalence of MDR-M bovis in low quality studies was 0.04 (95% CI: 0.00, 0.06), and in high quality studies was 0.05 (95% CI: 0.02, 0.08). Conclusions: The finding of this study indicated that the prevalence of multidrug resistant M.bovis in human is low. However, more attention is needed in the diagnosis and treatment of M.bovis infection in Human. Keywords: Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant     Mycobacterium bovis     review  meta-analysis   Human DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/69-01 Publication date: December 31st 201

Do the tuberculin skin test and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold in-tube test agree in detecting latent tuberculosis among high-risk contacts? A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES: The QuantiFERON-TB Gold in-tube test (QFT-GIT) and the tuberculin skin test (TST) are used to diagnose latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). However, conclusive evidence regarding the agreement of these two tests among high risk contacts is lacking. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the agreement between the TST and the QFT-GIT using kappa statistics. METHODS: According to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines, scientific databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Ovid were searched using a targeted search strategy to identify relevant studies published as of June 2015. Two researchers reviewed the eligibility of studies and extracted data from them. The pooled kappa estimate was determined using a random effect model. Subgroup analysis, Egger’s test and sensitivity analysis were also performed. RESULTS: A total of 6,744 articles were retrieved in the initial search, of which 24 studies had data suitable for meta-analysis. The pooled kappa coefficient and prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa were 0.40 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.34 to 0.45) and 0.45 (95% CI, 0.38 to 0.49), respectively. The results of the subgroup analysis found that age group, quality of the study, location, and the TST cutoff point affected heterogeneity for the kappa estimate. No publication bias was found (Begg’s test, p=0.53; Egger’s test, p=0.32). CONCLUSIONS: The agreement between the QFT-GIT and the TST in diagnosing LTBI among high-risk contacts was found to range from fair to moderate

Major infectious diseases affecting the Afghan immigrant population of Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES: As Afghans make up the largest group of foreign nationals in Iran, the aim of this study was to assess the proportion of Afghan immigrants among those afflicted by the most prevalent infectious diseases in Iran. METHODS: National and international online scientific databases were searched through November 2013. The reference lists of included studies were also searched. All descriptive studies concerning the most common infectious diseases in Iran, including tuberculosis, multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, leishmaniasis, and hepatitis B were retrieved. The nationality of patients was not considered. The selection of studies and data extraction was performed separately by two authors. Results were reported using a random effect model with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: The overall proportion of Afghan immigrants with the aforementioned infectious diseases was 29% (95% CI, 21 to 37). According to a stratified analysis, the proportion of Afghan immigrants afflicted with tuberculosis was (29%), multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis (56%), malaria (40%), cholera (8%), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (25%), leishmaniasis (7%), and hepatitis B (14%). CONCLUSIONS: It is highly recommended to monitor the health status of the Afghan immigrants when entering Iran, to reduce the spread of communicable diseases, which are viewed as serious in international health regulations