Relationship Between Household Food Insecurity and Growth Disorders in Children Aged 3 to 6 in Qazvin City, Iran.

PURPOSE: Food insecurity, which is the inability to obtain food or inadequate food consumption in terms of quality and quantity, has physical and psychological consequences on children's health. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between children's growth disorders and food insecurity in Qazvin city, Iran. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted on 177 cases and 355 controls of children aged 3 to 6 years, who were referred to health centers in Qazvin city. The case group consisted of children with growth disorders. Data were obtained with the 18-item US Department of Agriculture questionnaire, a household socioeconomic questionnaire, a and growth monitoring card. The data were analyzed with using IBM SPSS Version 22.0, by independent sample t-test, chi-square test, and logistic regression. RESULTS: A significant relationship was found between children's growth disorders and household food insecurity with (p<0.05, odds ratio [OR]=17.0, confidence interval [CI]=5.9, 48.8) and without hunger (p<0.05, OR=2.69, CI=1.4, 4.9). There were also significant relationships between children's growth disorders and socioeconomic status (p<0.05, OR=3.4, CI=1.4, 8.5), the duration of breastfeeding (p<0.05, OR=0.94, CI=0.9, 0.98), and children's ages (p<0.05, OR=0.94, CI=0.92, 0.96). Sex and birth order, and the age of the parents was not found to be significantly related with growth disorders. CONCLUSION: Lower socioeconomic status and household food insecurity were the important predictors of children's growth disorders. Policymakers should focus more on promoting steady employment and income among family members. Nutritional education for mothers is also recommended, in order to better meet the nutritional needs of the children.

Determinants of hookah smoking among men in the coffee houses: an application of socio-ecological approach.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoking is the second leading cause of death and is closely linked to fatal diseases. Hookah Smoking (HS) is a traditional way to smoke tobacco, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean region that is constantly rising around the world. This study aimed to evaluate the different levels of personal, interpersonal and social HS in Iranian urban men and determine the most important predictors of the levels through applying the socio-ecological approach (SEA). METHODS: This study was conducted in the coffee houses of Hashtrud and Qarah Aghaj counties in East Azerbaijan, Iran. Data collection was conducted from the entire coffee house (n = 18) from April to June 2017. Systematic sampling was employed to recruit 266 men in the coffee house. A valid and reliable instrument was used to investigate the frequency of HS and its determinants based on SEA. The SEA consists of three levels: personal (age, education, employment, income, and perceived severity and sensitivity), interpersonal (perceived reward), and social level (social support) intended to assess HS determinants. Hierarchical regression was used to determine the predictive value of SEA levels and frequency of HS. RESULTS: The mean age of daily hookah smokers (once per day and more than once per day) were (26.8) significantly lower than those (30.4) smokes weekly (once a week or more than once a week). The hierarchical logistic regression model showed that in the first step individual variables significantly predict 25.1% HS. In the second and third level interpersonal and social levels of SEA explained HS 30.1 and 30.8%, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study found that age, income, education, and perceived reward were all important factors influencing HS among men youth. Application of SEA to determine the factors associated with HS could contribute in the development of a holistic prevention program.

Life satisfaction and its contributors among noninstitutionalized older people in Tabriz, Islamic Republic of Iran.

BACKGROUND: With the rising growth of the older population, the well-being of older people is an important objective for both economic and health policy. AIMS: This study investigates levels of life satisfaction among older people living at home and the factors that influence it. METHOD: Applying probability proportional to size, a cross-sectional survey was conducted of 1067 older people living in Tabriz, Islamic Republic of Iran. The Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support questionnaires were administered. The data were analysed using chi-squared tests and logistic regression. RESULTS: More than half of the participants were dissatisfied with their lives. Female, educated, and active older people reported greater satisfaction than others. CONCLUSION: The significant positive effects of perceived social support and physical activity rate indicated that social interaction may be as vital as physical activity for the well-being of older people, and that these qualities should be actively promoted among older people in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The association between smoking status and hospital length of stay: evidence from a hospital-based cohort.

OBJECTIVES: Smoking is recognized as one of the main preventable causes of mortality and morbidity that imposes a high financial burden on healthcare systems and society. This study aimed to examine the association between smoking status and hospital length of stay (LOS) among patients with lung cancer (LC), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and ischemic heart diseases (IHD) in Iran in 2014. METHODS: A total of 1271 patients (415 LC patients, 427 COPD patients and 429 IHD patients) were included in the study. Data on age, sex, insurance status and LOS was extracted from the patients' medical records and smoking status was obtained from the patients using telephone survey. The LOS among current smokers, former smokers, and nonsmokers was compared using a zero-truncated poisson regression. Analysis was done using STATA v.12. RESULTS: The mean LOS for current smokers, former smokers and nonsmokers was 9.4±8.4, 7.3 ±5.3 and 6.02±5.05 days, respectively. The unadjusted and adjusted probabilities of LOS for current smokers and former smokers were 56% and 21% and 48% and 15% higher, respectively, than when compared with the nonsmoker category. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated longer LOS for the current and former smokers, contributing to the drain on large hospital resources in Iran. The results of the study provide useful information for health-policy makers that contribute to the planning and designing of smoking cessation interventions in this area.

Estimating Economic Burden of Cancer Deaths Attributable to Smoking in Iran.

BACKGROUND: There is a broad consensus among health policy-makers that smoking has a significant impact on both heath system and society. The purpose of this study was to estimate the economic burden of major cancer deaths caused by smoking in Iran in 2012. METHODS: Number of major cancer deaths due to smoking by sex and age groups in 2012 was obtained from GLOBCAN database. The life expectancy and retirement age were used to estimate years of potential life lost (YPLL) and cost of productive lost attributable to smoking, respectively. Data on prevalence of smoking, relative risk of smoking, life expectancy table, annual wage and employment rate were extracted from the various resources such as previous studies, WHO database and Iranian statistic centers. The data analysis was conducted by Excel software. RESULTS: Smoking was responsible for 4,623 cancer deaths, 80808 YPLL and $US 83,019,583 cost of productivity lost. Lung cancer accounts for largest proportion of total cancer deaths, YPLL and cost of productivity lost attributable to smoking. Males account for 86.6% of cancer deaths, 82.6% of YPLL and 85.3% of cost of productivity lost caused by smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking places a high economic burden on health system and society as a whole. In addition, if no one had been smokers in Iran, approximately two out of ten cancer deaths could be prevented.

Smoking status in Iranian male adolescents: a cross-sectional study and a meta-analysis.

The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of smoking status and its associated factors in Iranian adolescents and a meta-analysis of recent cross-sectional studies in order to estimate the corresponding prevalence for all Iranian adolescents. In a cross-sectional study, 1064 male high school students in Zanjan city (northwest of Iran) were recruited. A self-administered questionnaire was used for smoking status and associated factors. Through the meta-analysis, all relevant published studies were reviewed. Almost one-third of adolescents (34.2%, n=354) have experienced smoking either experimentally (23.4%, n=242), or regularly (10.8%, n=112). Multivariate analysis showed that older age (OR=1.20; 95% CI: 1.05-1.37), risky behaviors (OR=1.83; 1.25-2.68), Tramadol medication (OR=2.19; 1.54-3.11), low self-esteem (OR=1.07; 1.03-1.11), positive attitude toward smoking (OR=1.15; 1.09-1.21), positive thinking about smoking (OR=1.07; 1.01-1.14) and having smoker friends (OR=1.94; 1.36-2.77) were significantly associated with cigarette smoking in adolescents. Meta-analysis results showed that 7% of Iranian adolescents are regular smokers and 27% are experimenters. Increasing prevalence of smoking in Iranian adolescents is a major concern for public health. Controlling risky behaviors and increasing health education are recommended.

An algorithm of smoking stages assessment in adolescents: a validation study using the latent class analysis model.

BACKGROUND: Notwithstanding the importance of smoking stages evaluation in adolescents, there is not an appropriate instrument for its measurement. This study aims to introduce an appropriate instrument for measurement of smoking stages in adolescents and to examine its validity using latent class analysis (LCA) model. METHODS: We designed an algorithm to measure the smoking stages. The relevancy and clarity of the algorithm was examined by experts and lay experts. We assessed the reliability of our algorithm using test-retest method. Moreover, using the LCA, we studied the validity of the stages measured by the designed algorithm in 4903 students (ages 14-19), who were randomly selected from grade 10 high school students in Tabriz (North-West of Iran). RESULTS: The algorithm content validity indicates high relevancy and clarity percentages. Intra-class correlation of 0.929 was found in the assessment of the reliability of smoking stages (9 stages) in 154 students within a two-week interval. The LCA model revealed nine interpretable classes (G(2) = 0.051, df = 1, P = 0.821) for the measurement of smoking stages. Examination of the smoking cessation stages in a sample of 218 students in the cessation stage demonstrated that the results for five classes could be interpreted (G(2) = 0.001, df = 1, P = 0.975). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that this algorithm is clear, valid, and reliable.