Fruit and vegetable consumption in relation to primary headaches: the MEPHASOUS study.

BACKGROUND: Fruit and vegetable consumption may beneficially affect the odds of primary headaches due to their antioxidant contents. However, no study has examined the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and primary headaches among university students. AIM: To assess the relation between fruit and vegetable intakes and primary headaches among Iranian university students. METHODS: Overall, 83,214 university students with an age range of ≥ 18 years participated in the present study. Dietary intakes and also data on confounding variables were collected using validated questionnaires. Data on dietary intakes were collected using a validated dietary habits questionnaire. We used the International Classification of Headache Disorders-3 (ICHD-3) criteria to define primary headaches. RESULTS: Fruit consumption was negatively associated with primary headaches; such that after controlling for potential confounders, greater intake of fruits was associated with 30% lower odds of primary headaches (OR: 0.70, 95% CI 0.58-0.84). Such an inverse association was also found for vegetable consumption. In the fully adjusted model, students in the top category of vegetable consumption were 16% less likely to have primary headaches compared with those in the bottom category (OR: 0.84, 95% CI 0.74-0.95). Subgroup analysis revealed that fruit consumption was inversely associated with primary headaches in females, unlike males, and vegetable consumption was inversely associated with these headaches in males, as opposed to females. Moreover, fruit and vegetable consumption was related to lower odds of primary headaches in normal-weight students. CONCLUSION: Fruit and vegetable intakes were associated with reduced odds of primary headaches. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, cross-sectional analytic studies.

Prevalence of Ever Self-Reported Asthma and Associated Factors among University Students in Iran: A Population-Based Study.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease with regressive episodic symptoms. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of asthma ever (lifetime prevalence of asthma) and the associated factors among newly entered students in public universities in Iran. METHODS: This population-based cross-sectional study was part of the "Mental and Physical Health Assessment of University Students in Iran." The target population included all newly admitted students (N = 151,671) in 74 public universities in 28 provinces (out of the 31 provinces) in Iran. STATA version 12 was used for calculating the descriptive statistics. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were employed to identify relationships between asthma and socioeconomic variables. The level of significance was set at 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: Of a total of 79,277 participants, 55.23% (n = 43,785) and 44.77% (n = 35,492) were female and male, respectively. The prevalence of ever asthma among studied student was 1.89%. Of all the participants with asthma, 88.43% (85.49%-90.84%) were nonsmokers. More than 20% of the subjects were physically inactive. The respondents who revealed smoking >10 cigarettes/week were about 1.22 (1.036-1.437) times more likely to suffer from asthma disease (0.017), as compared with those who were not smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides valuable information about the prevalence of asthma ever symptoms among university students in Iran. In fact, the results of this study can fill information gaps concerning the affected groups in Iran, and even worldwide.

Dairy Consumption in Relation to Hypertension Among a Large Population of University Students: The MEPHASOUS Study.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a chronic condition that its prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate. Findings on the association between dairy consumption and hypertension are conflicting and few data are available in the Middle East. AIM: To assess the association between dairy consumption and hypertension among a large population of university students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The current study was performed in the framework of the Mental and Physical Health Assessment of University Student (MEPHASOUS) project. Overall, 67,011 university students with complete information were included in the statistical analysis. To assess dairy consumption, a self-administered dietary habits questionnaire was employed. Blood pressure was measured using a standard protocol. The systolic/diastolic blood pressure of ≥140/90 mmHg was considered hypertension. RESULTS: Hypertension was prevalent among 6.9% of students. A significant inverse association was found between dairy consumption and the odds of hypertension; such that after taking potential confounders into account, individuals in the highest levels of dairy consumption had 85% lower odds for having hypertension compared with those in the lowest levels (odds ratio (OR): 0.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.13-0.18). Such an inverse association was also seen among males (OR: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.11-0.18) and females (OR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.12-0.21), normal-weight students (OR: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.12-0.18) and those with overweight or obesity (OR: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.11-0.21), and individuals with (OR: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.11-0.16) and without (OR: 0.24, 95% CI: 0.17-0.35) family history of hypertension. CONCLUSION: Our results support the previous findings on the inverse association between dairy consumption and hypertension among university students.

Dairy consumption in relation to primary headaches among a large population of university students: The MEPHASOUS study.

AIM: To investigate the association between dairy consumption and primary headaches among a large population of university students. METHODS: Totally, 83,622 university students aged 18 years or older were included in the current cross-sectional study. Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated self-administered dietary habits questionnaire. Primary headaches were determined according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders-3 (ICHD-3) criteria. RESULTS: Totally, 9 % of participants suffered from primary headaches. A significant inverse association was observed between dairy consumption and odds of primary headaches (OR: 0.67, 95 % CI: 0.60-0.74). Such inverse association remained significant when potential confounders including demographic variables, physical activity, dietary factors, and BMI were taken into account; such that individuals in the highest category of dairy consumption were 19 % less likely to have primary headaches compared with those in the lowest category (OR: 0.81, 95 % CI: 0.72-0.92). Such an inverse association was also observed in women (OR: 0.79, 95 % CI: 0.68-0.93), but not in men. Stratified analysis based on body mass index revealed a significant inverse association between dairy consumption and primary headaches either in normal-weight individuals or those with overweight or obesity. CONCLUSION: We found that dairy consumption was inversely associated with primary headaches among university students.

Breakfast consumption pattern and its association with overweight and obesity among university students: a population-based study.

PURPOSE: To determine the association between breakfast consumption habit and overweight and obesity in a sample of Iranian university students. METHODS: A sample of 78,905 university students, aged 18 years or older, was recruited from 28 provinces in Iran to assess breakfast consumption pattern. Breakfast consumption habit was evaluated using a pre-tested questionnaire. Weight and height were measured using standard protocol and then body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Overweight (obesity included) and obesity were defined as BMI ≥ 25 and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, respectively. RESULTS: Mean age of participants was 21.50 ± 4.01. After controlling for potential confounders, participants who ate breakfast > 4 days/week had 15% lower risk of overweight compared with those who ate < 1 day/week (OR: 0.85, 95% CI 0.78-0.92). Such significant association was also seen in female students (OR: 0.82, 95% CI 0.72-0.93); however, it was marginally significant in male ones (OR: 0.89, 95% CI 0.79-1.00). In addition, a significant inverse association was found between breakfast consumption and obesity (OR: 0.74, 95% CI 0.64-0.85) such that after adjusting for potential confounders, students who consumed breakfast > 4 days/week were 33% less likely to be obese compared with those who consumed it < 1 day/week (OR: 0.67, 95% CI 0.57-0.78). Such significant inverse association was also seen in either gender. CONCLUSIONS: Breakfast consumption was inversely associated with odds of overweight and obesity in university students. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive studies.

Iranian university students lifestyle and health status survey: study profile.

BACKGROUND: The physical health assessment of university students in Iran is a national large scale assessment examining health behaviors among tertiary education students. Understanding risky health behaviors which are the major sources of global mortality and morbidity in adulthood is the key objective of this assessment. METHODS: In academic year of 2012-2013, newly admitted students (N = 151,671) at 74 governmental eligible universities that had health center from 28 provinces were invited to participate in the health assessment program. The physical health behaviors of the students were evaluated by using questionnaire. The test-retest reliability method was applied to estimate the reliability of physical health questionnaire. After filling out the questionnaires, students were led to the examination room for the measurement of height, weight and blood pressure. RESULTS: From the total study population, 84,298 student's ages between 18 and 29 years old, were participated in the health assessment. The mean response proportion was 63%. The mean age of students was 21.5 ± 4.01, with 49.20% percent being <20 years old. 32.31% were between 20 and 24 years, 13.44% between 25 and 29 years, 69% of the participants were undergraduate 34.9% were master's students, and 2.9% were Ph.D. students. The mean BMI for total students was 22.5 ± 4.0 and regarding to gender, the mean BMI for male and female were 23.0 ± 4.1 and 22.2 ± 3.8 respectively. CONCLUSION: Analysis of student's findings will generate multiple studies which report different aspects of physical health of Iranian university students who constitute a large proportion of young adult aged 18-29 years in the country. This assessment also provides opportunity to compare Iranian student's behavioral patterns with the behavioral pattern of students worldwide.

Defining polypharmacy in the elderly: a systematic review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Ageing--along with its associated physiological and pathological changes--places individuals at a higher risk of multimorbidity and treatment-related complications. Today, polypharmacy, a common and important problem related to drug use, occurs subsequent to this multimorbidity in the elderly in all populations. In recent decades, several scientific investigations have studied polypharmacy and its correlates, using different approaches and definitions, and their results have been inconclusive. Differences in definitions and approaches in these studies form a barrier against reaching a conclusion regarding the risk factors and consequences of polypharmacy. It is therefore imperative to establish an appropriate definition of polypharmacy. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A systematic review will be conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, PsycINFO and AgeLine bibliographic databases, as well as the grey literature on polypharmacy in older adults to answer these two questions: What definitions in the literature are being used for polypharmacy in older people?, and Which definitions are more comprehensive and applicable? 2 independent reviewers will conduct the primary screening of the articles and data extraction, and eligible sources will be selected after discussing non-conformities. All extracted data from selected articles will be categorised based on the type of study participants, study design and setting, the methodological quality of primary studies and any other potential source of heterogeneity, and results will be summarised in a table, which will contain the levels of evidence and methodological quality of the included studies. The most comprehensive definition of polypharmacy will be selected from the final list of definitions through an international expert webinar. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This research is exempt from ethics approval because the work is carried out on published documents. We will disseminate this protocol in a related peer-reviewed journal.

Effect of endurance training on retinol-binding protein 4 gene expression and its protein level in adipose tissue and the liver in diabetic rats induced by a high-fat diet and streptozotocin.

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: The present study was designed to investigate from which tissues the decrease in retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) expression could contribute to the improvement of serum RBP4 and insulin resistance (IR) after endurance training. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male 7-week-old Wistar rats were randomly assigned into four groups including control (C), trained (T), diabetic control (DC) and trained diabetic (TD). At 8 weeks-of-age, diabetes was induced by a high-fat diet and intraperitoneal injection of low-dose streptozotocin (STZ; 35 mg/kg). Rats in the T and TD groups carried out a 7-week exercise program on a motorized treadmill (15-20 m/min for 20 min/day for 5 weeks), whereas the C and DC remained sedentary in their cages. Tissues gene expression and protein levels of RBP4 were assessed by using real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot, respectively, while serum RBP4 was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. RESULTS: Exercise significantly improved IR and reduced serum concentration of RBP4 in the TD group. This reduction of serum RBP4 was accompanied by decreased RBP4 protein expression in visceral fat tissue. In contrast, exercise had no significant effect on RBP4 expression in liver and subcutaneous fat tissue in the TD group. Exercise also significantly decreased RBP4 gene expression in visceral fat tissue and muscle, whereas the effect of exercise on liver RBP4 messenger ribonucleic acid expression was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that the mechanism for RBP4 reducing the effect of endurance training could involve decreased RBP4 messenger ribonucleic acid expression and its protein level in adipose tissue in STZ-induced diabetic rats.

The effect of 12 weeks Anethum graveolens (dill) on metabolic markers in patients with metabolic syndrome; a randomized double blind controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The clustering of metabolic abnormalities defined as metabolic syndrome is now both a public health and a clinical problem .While interest in herbal medicine has greatly increased, lack of human evidence to support efficacies shown in animals does exist. This clinical trial study designed to investigate whether herbal medicine, Anethum graveolens (dill) extract, could improve metabolic components in patients with metabolic syndrome. METHODS: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial using a parallel design was conducted. 24 subjects who had metabolic syndrome diagnostic criteria (update of ATP III) were randomly assigned to either dill extract (n = 12) or placebo (n = 12) for 3 months. RESULTS: Across lipid component of metabolic syndrome, no significant differences in triglyceride (TG) concentration and high density lipoprotein cholesterol were seen between the two groups. However TG improved significantly from baseline (257.0 vs. 201.5p = 0.01) with dill treatment but such a significant effect was not observed in placebo group. Moreover, no significant differences in waist circumference, blood pressure and fasting blood sugar were seen between two groups after 3 months follow up period. CONCLUSION: In this small clinical trial in patients with metabolic syndrome, 12 weeks of dill extract treatment had a beneficial effect in terms of reducing TG from baseline. However dill treatment was not associated with a significant improvement in metabolic syndrome related markers compared to control group. Larger studies might be required to prove the efficacy and safety of long-term administration of dill to resolve metabolic syndrome components.

The impact of one session resistance exercise on plasma adiponectin and RBP4 concentration in trained and untrained healthy young men.

We designed this study, to investigate the predicting effect of a single resistance exercise session on serum level of RBP4 and adiponectin in trained and untrained subjects and to evaluate whether regular training may affect the response of these adipokines to exercise. Thirty four healthy young male students including 19 trained and 15 untrained participated in this study; each group was then randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The exercise session prolonged 120 minutes intensive resistance program at 70%-80% of 1RM. The blood samples were collected just before the start of training program and 4 hours post exercise to evaluate concentration of adiponectin, RBP4 and CRP as well as other metabolic markers. The serum level of adiponectin, RBP4 and CRP was not significantly different between trained and untrained groups at baseline. More over four hours post exercise adipokines concentration and CRP didn't differ between groups. Adjusted regression model showed, basal adiponectin (ß=0.59, p=<0.001) and HDL cholesterol (ß=0.28, p=0.09) were the main predictors of post exercise adiponectin concentration. In addition, the basic level of RBP4 appeared to be the only predictor of after exercise RBP4 concentration (ß=0.46, p=0.02). Neither one session of high intensity resistance exercise nor long term training had predicting effect on post exercise adiponectin and RBP4 concentration in healthy young men. In the other hand, the beneficial effect of acute resistance exercise training may not be reflected by changes in adiponectin, RBP4 and CRP concentration in healthy young individual no matter they trained or untrained.

Serum zinc levels in newborns with neural tube defects.

Neural tube defects (NTD) comprise of a group of congenital malformations that include spina bifida, anencephaly and encephalocele. Reports have implicated zinc deficiency as one of the causative factors of NTDs. We compared the serum zinc level of 23 newborns having neural tube defects with 35 healthy controls by spectrophotometery during 2003-2004. Zinc deficiency was documented in 43.5% of the cases and 8.6% of the controls (P = 0.002). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association between the presence of NTDs and zinc deficiency (OR = 8.2, 95% Cl: 1.9-34.7).