Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry diagnostic discordance between Z scores and T scores in a young Iranian population

Background: Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) is considered the gold standard for non-invasive measurement of bone mass. T-scores and Z-scores are used to present the results of bone mass. The present study was designed to evaluate the discordance between T-scores and Z-scores calculated at a same level and its relation with age, gender and body mass index (BMI) in a representative sample of normal population. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted as a part of a comprehensive survey, Iranian Multicenter Osteoporosis Study (IMOS), designed to assess bone health among healthy adults. Each individual underwent both L1–L4 antero-posterior lumbar spine and hip DXA scan. The difference between the T- and Z-scores measured at each of the four skeletal sites was then calculated. Results: A -1.21 to 1.21 point difference was noted in the Z- and T- scores measured at each site. While the difference between the T- and Z-scores was less than 0.5 SD in most of the cases, the difference was higher than 1 SD in about 5% of the subjects. Conclusion: Standardization of Z-score definition and calculation techniques as well as developing an ethnicity-matched reference population is needed to improve the reliability of DXA-generated Z-scores

Knowledge, attitude and practice of urban and ruarl households towards principles of nutrition in Iran: results of NUTRIKAP Survey.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of urban and rural households toward principles of nutrition in Iran. Methods: The study population was Iranian households who live in rural and urban areas in all provinces of the country. The sampling method at households’ level in each province was single stage cluster sampling with equal size clusters. The incumbent data was collected by a structured questionnaire and through the interview with the eligible subject in each household. Results: A total of 14,136 Iranian households were selected as total sample size, 9,149 urban households, and 4,987 rural households. Around 57.2% of urban and 49.5% of rural households was aware of food groups. Respectively in urban and rural households, about 35.1% and 39.7% had correct knowledge toward roles of food groups. Approximately 41.5% and 39.9% of households had accurate knowledge about reason of food eating in urban and rural areas, respectively. The results showed that 79.6% of them had favorable attitudes. The most of the households consumed red meat and poultry weekly whereas fish was eaten rarely. Fruits, vegetables and dairy were consumed daily in the most of households. Sugar intake was daily in the most of households and cream and butter intake was weekly. Conclusion: The most of households had moderate knowledge and good attitudes. Practice of families about food consumption was good. The results of this study can be used for proper intervention for improving of health society

Prevelance of hypertension in an Iranian population

Background: The prevalence of HTN varies considerably worldwide. This study was carried out to illustrate the prevalence of hypertension in a group of Iranian population based on the data gathered for Iranian Multi-centric Osteoporosis Studies (IMOS). Methods: This study analyzes the systolic and diastolic blood pressure from the IMOS, a multi-centric cross-sectional study carried out on apparently healthy men and women in urban areas of major Iranian cities to study bone health. Results: Overall, 26.21% of the studied cases were estimated to be hypertensive; the condition was more prevalent among older males. Each year increase in age was associated with 1.070 higher risk of developing hypertension. Conclusion: Hypertension is quite prevalent among Iranian population and the prevalence of the condition is rising in the context of progressive rise in age and BMI

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry diagnostic discordance between Z-scores and T-scores in a young Iranian population

Background: Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) is considered the gold standard for non-invasive measurement of bone mass. T-scores and Z-scores are used to present the results of bone mass. The present study was designed to evaluate the discordance between T-scores and Z-scores calculated at a same level and its relation with age, gender and body mass index (BMI) in a representative sample of normal population. Methods :This cross-sectional study was conducted as a part of a comprehensive survey, Iranian Multicenter Osteoporosis Study (IMOS), designed to assess bone health among healthy adults. Each individual underwent both L1–L4 antero-posterior lumbar spine and hip DXA scan. The difference between the T- and Z-scores measured at each of the four skeletal sites was then calculated. Results : A -1.21 to 1.21 point difference was noted in the Z- and T- scores measured at each site. While the difference between the T- and Z-scores was less than 0.5 SD in most of the cases, the difference was higher than 1 SD in about 5% of the subjects. Conclusion : Standardization of Z-score definition and calculation techniques as well as developing an ethnicity-matched reference population is needed to improve the reliability of DXA-generated Z-scores

Influence of serum vitamin D levels on peak bone mass in the Iranian population

Background- Recent studies have reported the high prevalence of different degrees of vitamin D deficiency in Iran. The present study was conducted to determine the correlation between serum levels of vitamin D and Peak Bone Mass (PBM) in a group of Iranian population at the age of PBM. Material & Methods- The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 20-35 year-old adults participating in the first phase of the Iranian Multicentric Osteoporosis Study (IMOS). The correlation between serum levels of 25(OH)D and BMD values were assessed by Spearman correlation coefficient. Results-1941 individuals were studied. There was no significant difference between BMD values at the studied areas with vitamin D levels nor status groups in either gender. Conclusion- Our study revealed no association between serum vitamin D levels and BMD in individuals at the age of PBM

The discriminative value of various biochemical parameters in detecting varying degrees of vitamin D deficiency in the Iranian population

Background: The present study was designed to assess the status and the discriminatory ability of serum Alk-Ph, Ca, P, and PTH in detecting hypovitaminosis D in some selected Iranian populations. Methods: Using a random cluster sample of apparently healthy men and women, this multi-centric cross-sectional study was carried out among the Iranian urban population of five large cities (Tehran, Tabriz, Mashhad, Shiraz, and Booshehr). Serum levels of 25(OH)D, PTH, Alk-Ph, Ca, and P levels were analyzed. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to estimate the main effects by comparing the mean values of serum PTH, Alk-Ph, Ca, and P at different 25(OH)D levels. The discriminative value of the studied biochemical markers in detecting hypovitaminosis D was assessed by ROC curve analysis. Results: From among the studied subjects, 2164 (57.5 %) had moderate to severe vitamin D deficiency. The areas under the ROC curves showed the low accuracy of PTH (0.579), Alk-Ph (0.478), Ca (0.496), and P (0.406) in detecting subjects with a vitamin D concentration <20 ng / mL. Conclusions: Abnormalities in routine markers of bone profile such as PTH, Alk-Ph, Ca, and P are not adequate enough to discriminate patients with hypovitaminosis D. (Clin. Lab. 2011;57:163-170

Association between vitamin D levels and BMI values in an Iranian population

Background: This study aimed to determine the relationship between vitamin D levels and body mass index (BMI) values in a group of Iranian people. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the anthropometric values and serum vitamin D levels were measured in more than 3500 healthy adults, representing a random sample of the Iranian population in the urban areas of five large cities of Iran. The data used in this study were from the database of the Iranian Multi-centric Osteoporosis Studies (IMOS), previously conducted to assess bone health in the country. The association between BMI values and serum level of 25(OH)D was thereafter calculated. Results: About 46% of the studied 3669 subjects had moderate to severe vitamin D deficiency regardless of their gender. About 43.2% of the overweight individuals and 45.2% of the obese had moderate-to-severe vitamin D deficiency. A linear but weak increasing trend was reported in the serum levels of 25(OH)D based on increasing BMI values. The significance of the value, however, disappeared after the data was adjusted for the possible confounders. Conclusions: A statistically positive association found between serum levels of 25(OH)D and BMI values raised concerns over the available data, suggesting that more studies should be performed in this regard

بررسی مقایسه‌ای ویژگی‌های بیماران گیرنده خدمات طب سنّتی با بیماران طب رایج در شهر تهران

Objective: Recent studies indicate an increase in referral of patients to Iranian traditional medicine.The aim of this study is to compare the characteristics of patients receiving traditional medicine with control group received modern medicine. Material and Methods: This was a case–control study.&nbsp; Totally 202 patients (100 routine and 102 traditional medicine) enrolled. For all of them a questionnaire was filled. Questionnaire consisted of questions about demographic information, motivational advantages and disadvantages of their received medicine Results: In 65.7% in traditional group expressed their satisfaction high or very high this rate was 31% in routine practice. Mean disease duration was 61/5 and 22/3 months in traditional and modern medicine respectively. This difference was significant. In both groups, the most frequent motivation of patients to their visit were their believe to efficacy of their received medicine, but there was no significant differences in this regards. In 19.6% of traditional medicine group and in 67% in modern medicine group believed that their cost is huge. 66% of modern medicine group believe that their method have high complication whereas no one believe to it in traditional medicine group. There were 26.5% and 31% male in traditional and modern medicine group respectively, also 41.2% and 36 % had high school diploma respectively. There were no significant difference regarding job and economic status. Conclusion: Regarding new tendency toward the traditional medicine and positive view of community to it, this medicine needs proper management and scientific orientation for better use of its advantages and avoiding its probable misuses.نتیجه مطالعات جدید نشان‏دهنده افزایش روزافزون مراجعات بیماران به طب سنّتی در ایران است. هدف مطالعه حاضر بررسی ویژگی‌های بیماران دریافت‌کننده طب سنّتی و مقایسه آن با گروه کنترل دریافت‌کننده طب کلاسیک است. درمجموع، از 202 بیمار مراجعه‌کننده به طب سنّتی و کلاسیک، پرسشنامه‌ای حاوی اطلاعات دموگرافیک، انگیزه، مزایا و معایب طب دریافتی تکمیل شد. طبق نتایج به‌دست آمده میزان رضایت‌مندی بیماران از نحوه درمان‏ خود، بر اساس 5 طیف خیلی‏کم تا خیلی‏زیاد تنظیم شد. نتایج نشان دادند که رضایت بیماران به‌صورت زیاد یا خیلی‏زیاد به ترتیب در گروه طب سنّتی 65/7 درصد و در طب رایج 31 درصد بود. میانگین طول مدت بیماری در بیماران طب سنّتی 61/5 ماه و در طب رایج 22/3 ماه بود. این اختلاف، معنی‌دار بود. بیشترین انگیزه مراجعه بیماران به درمان مورد نظرشان، اعتقاد به اثربخشی آن روش بوده است که البته تفاوت معنی‌داری بین دو گروه از این لحاظ وجود نداشت. به ترتیب 19/6 درصد بیماران طب سنّتی و 67 درصد بیماران طب رایج، به زیاد بودن هزینه درمانشان باور داشتند. در این بررسی 66 درصد بیماران طب رایج، عوارض جانبی در روش مورد استفاده‌شان را زیاد می‏دانستند؛ درحالی‌که هیچ‌یک از بیماران مراجعه‌کننده به طب سنّتی چنین نظری نداشتند. از نظر ترکیب جنسی به ترتیب 26/5 درصد و 31 درصد مراجعه‌کنندگان به طب سنّتی و رایج، مرد بودند. از نظر وضعیت تحصیلی 41/2 درصد بیماران طب سنّتی و 36 درصد طب رایج دیپلمه بودند. بر اساس آزمون T مستقل این دو متغیر و هم‏چنین وضعیت شغلی و اقتصادی، در دو گروه تفاوت آماری معنی‌داری مشاهده نشد (P value&gt;0/005). با توجه به گرایش جدید به طب سنّتی و نگاه مثبت جامعه به آن، این پدیده نیازمند مدیریت و جهت‌گیری صحیح علمی برای بهره‌مندی از منافع آن و از طرفی جلوگیری از سوءاستفاده‌های احتمالی است