Prevalence of Substance Abuse Among Dormitory Students of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a risky period with high tendency towards drug abuse. Addressing the problem of drug abuse among students is essential. OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out in 2013 with the purpose of investigating the prevalence of substance abuse among dormitory students of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this descriptive analytical study, which was carried out in 2013, a total of 604 students living at dormitories of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences were selected by random sampling method. A questionnaire designed by the researcher was used to collect the data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. RESULTS: The prevalence of substance abuse among the students was 15.4%. With respect to the types of the drug used by students, the highest frequencies belonged to smoking 4.47% and hookah with 42.9%. Forty-eight percent of the students, who used drugs, started it for the first time when they were 18 years old or younger. About 58% of students used drugs for the first time in dormitories and parks. Students' meetings and parties with friends were frequent occasions for substance abuse (47.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Students are considered one of the most vulnerable groups of society. The students living in dormitories are more vulnerable to drug abuse due to the lack of parental supervision and the impact of peer pressure. Therefore, localization of acceptance at Universities in order to prevent cultural mixing of students and education programs for teaching life skills to students efficiently reduce their substance abuse.

Effects of e-learning, lectures, and role playing on nursing students' knowledge acquisition, retention and satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Nursing education can maintain its dynamic quality when it moves toward innovation and modern methods of teaching and learning. Therefore, teachers are required to employ up to date methods in their teaching plans. This study evaluated the effects of e-learning, lectures, and role playing on nursing students' learning, retention, and satisfaction. METHODS: Sixty nursing students were selected as an experiment and control groups during two consecutive semesters. The educational content was presented as e-learning and role playing during one semester (experiment group) and as lectures in the next semester (control group). A questionnaire containing three parts was used to assess demographics, learning and satisfaction statuses. The questionnaire also included a final openended question to evaluate the students' ideas about the whole course. RESULTS: The mean scores of posttest were 16.13 ± 1.37 using role playing, 15.50 ± 1.44 using e-learning and 16.45 ± 1.23 using lectures. The differences between the mean scores of posttest and pretest were 12.84 ± 1.43, 12.56 ± 1.57, and 13.73 ± 1.53 in the mentioned methods, respectively. Lectures resulted in significantly better learning compared to role playing and e-learning. In contrast, retention rates were significantly lower using lectures than using role playing and e-learning. Students' satisfaction from e-learning was significantly lower than lecturing and role playing. CONCLUSION: Due to the lower rates of retention following lectures, the teachers are recommended to use student- centered approaches in their lectures. Since students' satisfaction with e-learning was lower than the other methods, further studies are suggested to explore the problems of e-learning in Iran.

National report on the association of serum vitamin D with cardiometabolic risk factors in the pediatric population of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): the CASPIAN-III Study.

OBJECTIVES: As the first, to our knowledge, nationwide study in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), this study aimed to investigate the association of serum 25 hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels with cardiometabolic risk factors in a nationally representative sample of the pediatric population in Iran. The second objective was to provide the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D and the percentiles of serum 25(OH)D in the study population. METHODS: This national population-based study was conducted among 1100 Iranian students living in 27 provinces in Iran. The association of 25(OH)D with each cardiometabolic risk factor was determined after adjustment for age, gender, body mass index, and waist circumference. RESULTS: Participants consisted of 1095 students (52% boys) with a mean age of 14.74 ± 2.61 y. The median 25(OH)D level corresponded to a vitamin D insufficiency level: 12.70 ng/mL in boys and 13.20 ng/mL in girls. Overall, 40% of participants were vitamin D deficient, and 39% had vitamin D insufficiency. There were no significant differences in these findings between boys and girls. Adjusted regression analysis revealed a significant weak inverse association of 25(OH)D with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. This association was significantly positive with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, but not with fasting plasma glucose and metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSION: We found a considerably high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in the pediatric population of a sunny region. Our findings also revealed an association of hypovitaminosis D with many cardiometabolic risk factors from childhood; these associations were independent of obesity indexes. It is of special concern that the highly prevalent disorders of low 25(OH)D and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in children and adolescents of the MENA region had significant association. The clinical importance of our findings needs to be confirmed in longitudinal studies.

Salt intake and the association with blood pressure in young Iranian children: first report from the middle East and north Africa.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the salt intake of Iranian children, and to assess the correlation of urinary electrolytes excretion with blood pressure. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2011-2012 among 3-10-year-old children, selected by multi-stage cluster sampling from urban and rural areas of Isfahan, Iran. The sodium (Na), potassium (K), and creatinine (Cr) were measured in a random sample of the children's first morning fasting urine. Three-day averages of dietary intakes were analyzed by the Nutritionist-4 software. RESULTS: The mean (SD) of urinary Na was 177.17 (28.68) mEq/day without significant difference according to gender and living area. The mean (SD) dietary intakes of Na and K were 2017.76 (117.94) and 1119.06 (76.03) mg/day, respectively. Children of urban and rural areas consumed similar sources of salty foods (bread, cheese, and snacks) and had low intake of vegetables. No significant association was documented between urinary electrolytes excretions and blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: This study, which to the best of our knowledge is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region, revealed that Iranian young children consume a large amount of sodium and small amount of potassium. The non-significant associations of electrolyte excretions with blood pressure may be because of the very young age group of participants. Given the development of preference to salt taste from early childhood, and the tracking of risk factors of chronic diseases from this age, reducing salt intake of young children should be emphasized.

Association of anthropometric indices with cardiovascular disease risk factors among children and adolescents: CASPIAN Study.

BACKGROUND: For the first time in Iran, and to the best of our knowledge in Asia, we assessed the anthropometric indices most closely correlated to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in a large nationally representative sample of children and adolescents to be used as a simple tool for identifying those at risk. METHODS: This multi-center study was performed among a representative sample of 4811 school students (2248 boys and 2563 girls) aged 6-18 years, as part of the baseline survey of a national surveillance system. Anthropometric indices and CVD risk factors were measured using standard protocols, and their correlation was analyzed by using Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves and partial correlation. RESULTS: The most prevalent CVD risk factors were low HDL-C (28%), followed by hypertriglyceridemia (20.1%), and overweight (17%). The ROC analyses showed that among boys, all anthropometric indices had the same association with CVD risk factors in 6-9.9-year-age group, while in the 10-13.9 and 14-18-year-age groups, respectively waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) were the best in distinguishing CVD risk factors. Among girls, these indices were respectively BMI and waist to stature ratio (WSR); WC and WSR; and WC. In the partial correlation analysis, in boys, the highest coefficient was found for BMI; BMI and WC; and for WC and WSR; in girls, these indices were BMI; WC and WSR; and BMI respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, BMI, WC and WSR were the most appropriate in predicting CVD risk factors. It may be clinically useful in the pediatric population to routinely measure WC and WSR in addition to BMI as a screening tool to identify high-risk youth.