Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk assessment of exposure to trace elements in groundwater resources of Sari city, Iran.

The daily intake of trace elements through water resources and their adverse health effects is a critical issue. The purpose of this research was to assess the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of exposure to iron (Fe), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As) in groundwater resources of Sari city, Iran. The concentrations of the trace elements in a total number of 66 samples from the groundwater sources were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The hazard index (HI) levels of exposure to the trace elements from the groundwater sources for adults, teenagers, and children were 0.65, 0.83, and 1.08, respectively. The carcinogenic risk values of Cr and As in the groundwater sources for children, teenagers, and adults were 0.0001, 0.00009, 0.00007, 0.0003, 0.0002, and 0.0001, respectively, causing a total carcinogenic risk value higher than the acceptable range, and removing Cr and As from the groundwater resources is recommended for safe community water supply.

Validity, Reliability, and Optimal Cut-off Scores of the WHO-5, PHQ-9, and PHQ-2 to Screen Depression Among University Students in Iran.

This study aimed to investigate the validity, reliability, and optimal cut-off points for the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Well-being Index (WHO-5) to screen mild depression among 400 Iranian students who completed these tools and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-13). Further, a psychiatrist diagnosed the depression by using the "Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders." The validity and internal consistency of tools assessed and the accuracy were computed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC). The internal consistency values of PHQ-2, PHQ-9, and WHO-5 were .73, .88, and .94, respectively. The PHQ-2 (.53), PHQ-9 (.60), and WHO-5 (.54) were significantly associated with the BDI. The PHQ-2, PHQ-9, and WHO-5 had optimal cut-off points of 2, 5, and 9 with an AUC of .809, .851, and .823, respectively. Based on these findings, it is recommended to use the PHQ-9 for mild depression screening among medical university students in Iran because of its high sensitivity and specificity.