Epidemiological characteristics of human brucellosis in Shahin Dezh, Western Azarbaijan, Iran, 2008-2012

Background: Brucellosis is still one of the most challenging issues for health and the economy in many developing countries such as Iran. Objectives: This study investigated the epidemiological features of brucellosis in Shahin Dezh, Western Azarbaijan province, North West of Iran. Patients and Methods: This study had across-sectional design and data was collected from private and public sectors over a five-year period (2008-2012). All cases were studied between years 2008 and 2012 in Shahin Dezh. Results: In total, 492 cases of brucellosis were reported. The prevalence of brucellosis decreased from 152 cases/100000 inhabitants in 2008 to 97 cases/100000 inhabitants at the beginning of 2012. About 52.3 of subjects were male, and most cases of brucellosis were aged 25-30 years. Eighty-one percent of subjects lived in rural areas. There was a statistically significant difference regarding contact with livestock between rural and urban areas (91.7 vs. 68.8) (P value <0.001). Raw milk was the most commonly consumed dairy product; consumed by 37 of cases. Finally, during winter and spring a high prevalence rate of brucellosis was reported. Conclusions: Comprehensive health-related interventions need to empower communities at risk, especially young men and young and adult women in the Shahin Dezh County. Health education is needed to raise awareness of people in the studied area. © 2015, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center

Epidemiological Patterns of Road Traffic Crashes During the Last Two Decades in Iran: A Review of the Literature from 1996 to 2014

Context: Despite considerable attention given to health statistics of road traffic crashes (RTCs), the epidemiological aspects of injuries resulting from RTCs are not fully understood in Iran and other developing countries. The aim of this review was to study the epidemiological pattern and issues arising due to RTCs in Iran. Evidence Acquisition: The scope of this study involves data from a broad range of published literature on RTCs in Iran. Data collection for this study was conducted by searching for keywords such as traffic accidents, traffic crashes, motorcycle accidents, motorcycle crashes, motorcycle injury, motor vehicle injury, motor vehicle crashes and motor vehicle accidents, Iran and Iranian in various databases such as Embase, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Magiran, Iranian scientific information database (SID) and IranMedex. Results: This study comprised of 95 articles. It is evident from this review that a large number of severe RTCs occur due to collision of two or more vehicles and most of the victims are males aged between 30 and 39 years. Male pedestrian, drivers and passengers are more likely to be severely injured in comparison to females. One of the most prevalent causes of death among adults involved in the RTCs are head injuries and the majority of deaths occur prior to hospitalization. Mortality rates for RTCs are higher in summer, especially during midnight among all age groups. The most common individual and environmental risk factors associated with RTCs include lack of attention, getting trapped in the car, listening to music, fatigue and sleepiness, duration and distance and negligence of seatbelt usage while driving. Conclusions: The findings of the current study will be beneficial in prevention of RTCs and its associated complications and hence will be vital for policy makers, health service managers and stakeholders

The association between metabolic syndrome and its components with systemic lupus erythematosus: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Objectives: Based upon inflammatory-related factors in chronic systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as well as the long-term prescription of corticosteroids, metabolic syndrome (MetS) prevalence is expected to be higher in SLE patients than among those without SLE. The aim of this study was to systematically analyze: (1) the worldwide prevalence of MetS in patients with SLE using different criteria, (2) the risk of MetS in patients with SLE compared with those without SLE, and (3) the risk of MetS component in patients with SLE compared with healthy controls. Methods: We searched international databases, such as: Web of Science, Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, CABI, CINAHL, DOAJ and Google Scholar. The articles which reported the prevalence of MetS in SLE patients, between 2006 and 2017, were included in the study if they had a: clear study design, study time and location, sound sampling approach and appropriate statistical analyses. Studies without sufficient data to determine the prevalence of MetS were excluded. Also, studies in patients suffering from other clinical diseases were not included. Results: The meta-analyses of the prevalence (40 studies (n = 6085)) and risk (20 studies (n = 2348)) of MetS in SLE patients were conducted separately. The pooled prevalence of MetS among SLE patients was found to be 26 (95 confidence interval (CI): 22-30), but varied from 18 (95 CI: 11-25) to 34 (95 CI: 25-42), depending upon the diagnostic criteria used. The overall pooled odds ratio (OR) of MetS in SLE patients, compared with healthy controls, was (OR = 2.50; 95 CI: 1.86-3.35), but this ranged from (OR = 1.23; 95 CI: 0.61-2.49) to (OR = 10.71; 95 CI: 1.33-86.48), depending upon the criteria used. Also, the risk of high fasting blood sugar (FBS; OR = 1.59; 95 CI: 1.05-2.40), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; OR = 1.43; 95 CI: 1.02-2.01), high blood pressure (BP; OR = 2.76; 95 CI: 2.19-3.47), high triglycerides (TG; OR = 2.85; 95 CI: 2.05-3.95) and high waist circumference (WC; OR = 1.37; 95 CI: 0.97-1.94) were all found to be higher in SLE patients compared with healthy controls. Conclusions: The risk of MetS was significantly higher in SLE patients, compared with healthy controls, even after adjusting for publication bias. Among MetS components, high TG and high BP were most strongly associated with SLE. Considering that high TG and high BP are preventable, there is an international need to implement effective interventions to reduce MetS components in SLE patients in order to prevent serious outcomes such as cardiovascular diseases and mortality