Epidemiology of headaches in Tehran urban area: a population-based cross-sectional study in district 8, year 2010.

Many population-based studies have been performed to determine the prevalence of different types of headaches; however, none of them was performed in Tehran urban area as a huge and crowded metropolitan with multiple serious problematic crises. This study was performed to evaluate the prevalence rates of different types of headache among adult population of Tehran urban area in the year 2010. In this cross-sectional survey, a "face-to-face, in-door" structured interview was developed and used in district 8 of Tehran urban area as one representative region in the year 2010. A form concerning the prevalence of different types of headaches which also comprised the characteristics of the headaches and sociodemographic data was designed. After enrollment, participation rate of 91% (3,655 out of 4,000) was achieved. Of 3,655 recruited individuals, 2,778 (76%) people have experienced headache within last year. Tension-type headache and migraine were the most common types with the prevalence of 48.6% (n = 1,777) and 18.2% (n = 665), while, chronic daily, medication overuse headache and cluster headaches were presented in 7.0% (n = 255), 4.9% (n = 180) and 0.1% (n = 3), respectively. The prevalence of primary headaches in a sample of Tehran adult population is considerable. This high prevalence of headaches necessitates further evaluation of possible risk factors derived from leaving in such a crowded metropolitan area.

Vitamin d3 concentration correlates with the severity of multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the possible association between serum 25(OH) vitamin D3 concentration and the severity of disease in Iranian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and to compare this concentration with a matched control group. METHODS: This was an analytical cross-sectional study performed at Jondishapour Neurology Clinic in Tehran, Iran. Patients with relapsing-remitting MS were categorized by disease severity: mild [0≤ Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) ≤3], moderate (3.5≤EDSS≤5.5), and severe (6≤EDSS). Serum concentrations of 25(OH) vitamin D3, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and parathyroid hormone were measured in 98 MS patients and 17 healthy age- and sex-matched controls. Fisher's exact, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U test, and independent t and Spearman rank correlation tests were used. RESULTS: Serum 25(OH) vitamin D3 concentration was significantly lower in patients with MS, especially in the severe MS subgroup, compared with healthy controls (P=0.047). There was a statistically significant inverse correlation between 25(OH) vitamin D3 concentration and EDSS score (P=0.049, R=-0.168 by Spearman rank correlation test), which was observed in women only (P=0.044, R=-0.199). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings not only further disclose the lower level of vitamin D in MS patients in comparison with healthy controls, but also support the association between vitamin D and disease severity in MS.