Menarche age and the risk of diabetes: A cross-sectional study in South-Eastern Iran.

Background and Aims: Diabetes is a major public health problem worldwide. This study aimed to determine the relationship between menarche age and overt diabetes in southeast Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 6094 eligible women between the ages of 35 and 70 participating in the Zahedan Adult Cohort Study. Demographic and background data, fertility, anthropometry, and disease history were collected based on a questionnaire. Menarche age was classified into five categories (under 12 years, 12, 13, 14, 15 years and more). Diabetes is defined as a blood sugar of 126 or more according to the definition by the American Diabetes Association. Data analysis was done using SPSS 26 software. Descriptive analysis was performed with frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation; and analytical analysis using chi-square and logistic regression tests. The significance level in this study was p < 0.05. Results: The participants' mean age was 49.41 ± 8.88, and the mean age at menarche was 13 ± 1.49. 22.8% (1389 women) of participants with diabetes and 77.2% (4705 women) did not have diabetes. The findings showed that the chance of developing diabetes in women with a menarche age <12 years was significantly higher than in women with a menarche age of 13 years (reference) (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.51). This relationship was significant after adjusting variables such as body mass index, education level, fertility factors, history of diabetes, and reproductive diabetes (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 0.90, 1.44, p = 0.04). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that young age at menarche may be a risk factor for diabetes in adulthood. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings. However, it is suggested to pay attention to it in diabetes screening so that, if possible, by identifying people at risk and implementing prevention programs, the adverse consequences of diabetes can be reduced.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Middle-East countries: Meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies.

OBJECTIVE: Metabolic syndrome is an important metabolic disorder which impose noticeable burden on health system. We aimed to review and imply the prevalence of it in Middle-East countries. METHODS: present study was a systematic review to present overview about metabolic disorder in Middle East. Electronic literature search of Medline database and Google scholar were done for English-language articles without time filtering, as well as for population-based or national studies of the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. The fallowing search terms were used simultaneously: prevalence of "metabolic syndrome" and "national study", "prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Middle East", "prevalence of metabolic syndrome" and "name of country", "metabolic syndrome &name of country". Additionally, relevant articles in bibliography were searched. Analysis of data was carried out in STATA version 11.0. RESULTS: out of 456 studies in first-step searching (selecting by title) 59 studies were recruited and reviewed. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome fluctuated by country and time of study. This amount was 2.2-44% in Turkish, 16-41% in Saudi-Arabia, 14-63 in Pakistan, 26-33 in Qatar, 9-36 in Kuwait, 22-50 in Emirate, 6-42 in Iran, and up to 23 in Yemen. Pooled estimate was 25%. Attributable risk for cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke was 15.87, 11.7, and 16.23, respectively. CONCLUSION: The prevalence rate of metabolic syndrome is high and it is noticeable cause for stroke, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease.

The value of urea, creatinine, prolactin, and beta sub-unit of human chorionic gonadotropin of vaginal fluid in the diagnosis of premature preterm rupture of membranes in pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of urea, creatinine, prolactin, and the beta sub-unit of human chorionic gonadotropin (ß-hCG) of vaginal fluid in the diagnosis premature preterm rupture of membranes (PROM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this observational study, 160 pregnant women with gestational age of 28 to 40 weeks were divided into two equal groups: investigation (documented PROM) and control (intact membrane) groups. Five cubic centimeters of normal saline was poured into the vagina of all participants and the liquid was extracted after a few minutes using a syringe. The liquid was sent to a laboratory for examination. Data were analyzed using a t-test. RESULTS: The volume of urea, creatinine, prolactin, and ß-hCG was significantly different in the two groups (p<0.001). Based on receiver operating characteristic curve and cut-off point, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of ß-hCG for detecting PROM were 87.5%, 86%, 86.4%, and 87.3%, respectively. Also, the same factors for urea in detecting PROM were 79.7%, 82.5%, 81.8%, and 80.4%, respectively. Creatinine had 74.6% sensitivity, 85% specificity, and 83% and 77.2% positive and negative predictive values for detecting PROM. Finally, prolactin had 87.5% sensitivity, 90% specificity, and 90% positive and 88% negative predictive values for detecting PROM. CONCLUSION: Prolactin and ß-hCG have more diagnostic value than urea and creatinine in detecting PROM, and can be used in suspected cases.