The influence of dietary patterns and stressful life events on psychological problems in a large sample of Iranian industrial employees: Structural equations modeling approach.

BACKGROUND: Psychological problems affect many employees and their job performance. Although, the association of diet and stress, as modifiable risk factors, with psychological problems have been investigated separately, however their simultaneous impacts have not been studied. The present study aimed at reinvestigating the association of major dietary patterns and stressful life events with intensity of psychological problems in a large sample of Iranian industrial employees. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, 3063 employees in an industrial unit in Isfahan, Iran were investigated. Psychological problems profile as a latent construct was extracted from three common psychological problems; depression, anxiety and psychological distress. Depression and anxiety were measured by Persian validated version of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and psychological distress by the 12 items General Health Questionnaires (GHQ). Major dietary patterns were derived from a validated short form of semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) using explanatory factor analysis. Stressful life events dimensions were extracted based on factor analysis, from self-perceived frequency and intensity of Stressful Life Events (SLE) questionnaire. Associations of the obtained factors were investigated in a latent structural modeling framework. RESULTS: Three dietary patterns i.e. western, traditional and healthy and two stressors dimensions including personal life and socioeconomics were extracted. Greater adherence to healthy diet was protectively associated with psychological problems profile scores (ß = -0.54; 95% CI: -0.74, -0.34). Adherence to western (ß = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.45) and Iranian traditional (ß = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.28, 0.68) dietary patterns were positively associated with higher psychological problems scores in employees. But after adjustment for life stressors only adherence to a healthy diet remained significantly associated with psychological problems profile (ß = -0.43; 95% CI: -0.59, -0.27). Also, personal life stressors (ß = 0.81; 95% CI: 0.63, 0.99) and socioeconomics stressors (ß = 0.12; 95% CI: 0.08, 0.16) had significantly direct association with psychological problems profile scores. LIMITATIONS: Variables assessment by self-reported questionnaires, not affording causality because of cross sectional design, not adjusting the nutrients intake in association analyses, relatively small sample size of women. CONCLUSIONS: Life stressors particularly personal stressors have negative direct association with psychological health of employees. Adherence to a healthy diet can be related to improvement of psychological health in employees. The results can be useful in occupational health planning in order to improve mental health and job productivity.

Association between cigarette smoking and socio-demographics, lifestyle and mental health factors in a sampled Iranian population.

The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between cigarette smoking and socio-economic variable in an Iranian male population. Isfahan Healthy Heart Program (IHHP) is a community oriented health study from which we obtained our data regarding male subjects. Socio-demographic variables--sex, age, marital status, educational level, occupation, and income--and physical activity level were derived from the questionnaire. Nutritional status was asked by the Food Frequency Questionnaire and the general dietry index (GDI) was calculated. A general health questionnaire (GHQ) comprised of 12 items was used to assess mental health. Smoking status was investigated by a self reported questionnaire as a dependent variable. A logistic regression model was used for statistical analysis. Current smokers comprised 26.2% of respondents while 8.5% were ex-smokers. High income (OR 2.04; 95% CI 1.13-3.67), GDI (OR 1.83; 95% CI 1.44-2.32) and high stress (GHQ > or = 4 OR 1.71; 95% CI 1.48-2) were associated with smoking. Older age (OR 0.991; 95% CI 0.985-0.998), university education level (OR 0.53; 95% CI 0.37-0.77), unemployment (OR 0.8; 95% CI 0.64-0.99) and obesity (BMI > or = 25 kg/m2 OR 0.63; 95% CI 0.55-0.73) were associated with non-smoking status. Our findings confirm an association between socio-demographics, lifestyle and mental health variables with smoking in the Iranian population, consistent with other studies worldwide. These factors should be considered when developing smoking cessation strategies.

Association between hypertension and quality of life in a sample of Iranian adults.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the association between hypertension and health-related quality of life in a sample of Iranian adults. METHODS: Samples were selected from the final phase of the Isfahan Healthy Heart Program (IHHP). A structured interview was conducted using a standardized questionnaire to obtain information on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Subjects with a systolic blood pressure of > or =140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure of > or =90 mmHg or taking antihypertensive medication were regarded as hypertensive. Quality of life was assessed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), Persian version. The chi square test, t test, ANOVA and MANOVA were used as appropriate. A multiple regression model was used to show association of blood pressure and QOL. Statistical analysis was performed with the Statistical Program for Social Sciences software (SPSS) version 15. All differences were considered statistically significant at P < 0.05. RESULTS: Education, income, occupation and marital status were associated with hypertension. A negative association was observed between each domain of health-related QOL and systolic blood pressure after adjustment for socio-demographic variables. Increasing systolic blood pressure was associated with a lower score of health-related QOL. In contrast, diastolic blood pressure was positively associated with health-related QOL. CONCLUSION: Due to a lower health-related quality of life hypertensive patients need more attention from health care providers.