Do socioeconomic factors affect the prevalence of multiple sclerosis in Iran?

BACKGROUND: A rising trend for incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) has been observed during the recent years in Iran. Several factors have been investigated as the reason, but socioeconomic determinants have been neglected. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between Human Development Index (HDI), income and education and MS prevalence in the provinces of Iran. METHODS: The data used in this study were obtained from three sources: (a) National Registry of MS for MS prevalence data from 2006 to 2013, (b) Statistical Centre of Iran for demographic, income, and percentage of educated people data, and (c) some previous studies for HDI data. RESULTS: The findings showed high prevalence of MS in the provinces of Iran. Most patients were residents of provinces with a higher socioeconomic level. Significant relationships were found between the prevalence of MS and HDI, income and educational level (P = .002, P = .006, and P = .001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Socioeconomic determinants in Iran are different from those in many other countries. It seems that Iranian provinces with a higher socioeconomic level have higher prevalence of MS. Further studies in smaller scale are needed to better understand the relationship between socioeconomic determinants and MS prevalence in the provinces of Iran.

Effect of Vitamin D on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials.

New evidence suggests that low serum Vitamin D may cause nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Hypovitaminosis D is associated with the severity and incidence of NAFLD. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of Vitamin D on serum metabolic profile among NAFLD patients. Databases including PubMed, Institute for Scientific Information Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched up to November 2016. RCTs which studied Vitamin D effect on metabolic profiles and liver function, and conducted among adults were included. Six articles were eligible to be considered in this systematic review. According to the result, Vitamin D supplementation might improve lipid profile and inflammatory mediators when compared with placebo. No article indicated significant effect of Vitamin D on liver enzymes except one article which revealed that Vitamin D together with calcium carbonate can reduce liver enzymes. Vitamin D supplementation may not improve anthropometric measures and glycemic index variables among patients with NAFLD. Vitamin D supplement might improve NAFLD symptoms, especially inflammatory mediators. More RCTs in different parts of world with different forms and doses of Vitamin D are necessary.

Data on microbiological quality assessment of rural drinking water supplies in Poldasht county.

In this research, the villages with water supply systems under the supervision of the Water and Wastewater Company in Poldasht County, Iran in 2015 was studied. 648 samples were taken from 57 villages during 12month period to test for microbial quality according to the latest guidelines of WHO. Fecal coliform, coliform, turbidity, pH and free residual chlorine were analyzed. Also we used linear Regression statistical analysis for collected data. Result of Data showed that 13.6% of the villages under study had contaminated water resources. In 100 percent of the water sample resource the turbidity level was less than Iranian maximum permissible levels (5 NTU). There was a linear relation between the Free residual color and Coliform in different month of follow up (r = -0.154, P < 0.001). Data suggests water resources should be comprehensively planned and monitored keeping in view the WHO recommended parameters.