Introduction: Osteoarthritis is considered as the most common joint disease. Sulfur mustard (SM) is a toxic compound, which was applied as a chemical warfare agent by Iraq against Iran veterans during 1980-1988. Chemical veterans suffer from chronic implications caused by sulfur mustard that not only adversely affect their quality of life, but also restrict their working abilities and their participation in social activities. This study aims to consider the prevalence of osteoarthritis disorders among Iranian SM-exposed veterans. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 248 Iranian SM exposed patients were evaluated from 2013 to 2014. Veterans filled a special questionnaire for COPCORD studies and then general and specific rheumatology examinations were applied under the supervision of internists and rheumatologists. The obtained data from 245 filled questionnaires were analyzed by SPSS software and the results were reported as a percentage or mean ±SD. Results: Bone and joint pain (72%), knee joint pain (52.5%), Joint stiffness (49.2%), and shoulder joint pain (45.8%) were the most common type of complications in these patients. Osteoarthritis in at least one joint was the most common type of osteoarthritis in veterans. 69.5% of veterans had osteoarthritis in at least one joint. Knee osteoarthritis was the second most common type of osteoarthritis, which has been found in 58.4% of all veterans. The prevalence of neck osteoarthritis in all veterans was 23.9%. Conclusion: The total prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among Iranian veterans was significantly higher than the average of society.
Background: Rheumatic disorders are one of the most prevalent human diseases which commonly become chronic and cause different types of disabilities. Chemical veterans may suffer from chronic difficulties caused by rheumatic disorders that can lead to decrease of their quality of life. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of rheumatic disorders among Iranian chemical warfare patient’s long-years after sulfur mustard (SM) exposure. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from 2013 to 2014 on 245 Iranian chemical veterans. In order to evaluate rheumatic disorders, a special questionnaire for COPCORD studies were filled by veterans and then general and special rheumatology examinations were applied under the supervision of internists and rheumatologists. Data from all questionnaires were analyzed by SPSS software and the results were reported as percentage or mean ±SD. Results: Osteoarthritis (69.9%) was the most common complications diagnosed in these patients. After that back pain (30.5%) and pre-arthritis (27.2) were the other popular complications among veterans. The percentage of frozen shoulder and moderate carpal tunnel syndrome was 13.2% and 11.5%, respectively. Tennis elbow and fibromyalgia (3.7%), rheumatoid arthritis (0.8%) and gouty arthritis with 0.4% were the lowest complications among these patients. Conclusion: Rheumatic associated complications in Iranian chemical injured veterans are higher than the mean of whole community. This data provided the possibility of calculating the disease’s burden and making efficient decisions in the sanitary and treatment systems.
Background and Aim: Eating disorders are one of the most important issues in mental health that leading to many serious psychic and somatic problems and even death. These disorders were known for years as a disease of the western societies. Recent studies showed that they are also spreading in eastern countries. Limited studies are in Iran. The purpose of this study is to review the Iranian researches. The results of this study in Iran as a developing Asian country will helpful for other societies, especially similar Asian communities. Methods: The authors searched PubMed, ProQuest, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and SID and Magiran (In Persian) to find the relevant articles. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist was used to assess the quality of research. Results: Twenty- nine studies reported the prevalence or occurrence of eating disorders among the Iranian population. The samples consisted of 40 to 30,532 subjects. Forty papers examined eating disorders among females. Twenty-seven studies were in both genders, and only one was in males. Most eating disorders have significantly varied depending on the different studies and tools used. Most of these articles studied young people. This study breaks the determinants into three parts: demographic, psychosocial, and miscellaneous factors. The incidence of eating disorders in Iran is on the rise. Conclusions: It should be considered a significant health problem. Moreover, despite a clear cultural difference, eating disorders' factors were similar to those in western communities. This matter may be an essential health issue. In addition, despite noticeable cultural differences, the factors affecting eating disorders were similar to those of western communities.
Background: The prevalence of smoking among students is a growing concern, particularly among medical students. Being associated with stress, competitiveness, and various social influences, smoking can have detrimental effects on self-esteem and self-efficacy and may create a vicious cycle that may contribute to student’s well-being and academic performance outcomes. We aimed to investigate the relationship between self-esteem, self-efficacy, and smoking habits among medical students and their sociodemographic correlates. Methods: A cross-sectional study on 456 medical students was conducted via an online survey using structured questionnaires on socio-demographic characteristics, smoking habits, nicotine dependence, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Results: The prevalence of smoking was 31.1% The scores of self-esteem and self-efficacy were positively correlated with smoking habits (W1=0.957, W2=0.975, P<0.05). Students presented rather low smoking addiction with male students having slightly higher scores than female students on self-esteem and self-efficacy, military students had higher self-esteem scores than civilians with physical activity having a positive correlation with non-smoking behavior. Conclusion: According to our results, self- esteem and self-efficacy were slightly positively correlated with smoking habits. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant association between other social factors and smoking. Our results may develop a theoretical basis for medical students’ psychological variables studying for further implementation of university educational programs and preventive interventions empowering students towards an overall better quality of life, addressing, among others, smoking behaviors.
