International Journal of Preventive Medicine
Year:2017 | Volume:8 | Issue:-|Papers Count:6

Zika virus (ZIKV) disease is caused by a virus transmitted by Aedes mosquito. It presents as flu‑like symptoms lasting for 5–7 days and shows potential association with neurological and autoimmune complications such as congenital microcephaly and adult paralysis disorder, Guillain–Barré syndrome. Treatment measures are conservative as the disease is self‑limiting. ZIKV earlier affected several tropical regions of Africa and Asia from 1951 to 2006. Subsequently, it moved out from these regions to land as outbreaks in Yap Island, French Polynesia, South America, and most recently in Brazil. The WHO declared it as an international public health emergency in 2016 and an extraordinary event with recommendations for improving communications, tightening vigil on ZIKV infections, and improving mosquito control measures. The authors in this article aim to briefly discuss ZIKV infection, its epidemiology, clinical manifestations, management, and prevention.

Background: The relationships that age and gender share with risk factors (RFs) of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) were assessed among a large‑scale employ in Western Iran.Methods: In this epidemiologic cross‑sectional study, 7129 employees from Kermanshah Province were assessed using a census method in 2012. Data on RFs of NCD were collected using a standard questionnaire. Demographic information, diet, physical activity, tobacco use, and history of hypertension, history of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, and cancer were studied.Results: The proportion of ≥5 servings of fruits and vegetables consumption per day was lower in higher ages (P=0.001), and this proportion was greater in females than males (72.1% vs.47.8%; P<0.0001). Tobacco use was more in higher ages and was higher among males than females (13.3% vs.0.6%; P<0.0001). Overweight and obesity prevalence increased in higher ages and was more prominent among males than females (67.8% vs.55.3%; P<0.0001). Overall, the prevalence of having 3–5 RFs was greater among those with ≥55 years and among males than females (20.4% vs.6.6%; P<0.0001).Conclusions: The prevalence of major RFs of NCDs was greater among older persons and male participants. More preventive programs such as health education on employees of Kermanshah are recommended.

Background: A responsibility of the family physician (FP) and one of the four aspects of the delivery of primary care services is continuity of care (COC). This study aimed to determine the COC of health care in urban health centers.Methods: Between September 2015 and March 2016, we conducted a cross‑sectional study using Primary Care Evaluation Tool questionnaires with multistage stratified cluster sample of FPs (n=141) and patients (n=710) in two provinces in Iran, Fars and Mazandaran. The questionnaires contained essential dimensions of COC: Informational, interpersonal, and longitudinal COC.Results: Almost all FPs had a computer. The FPs hadn’t kept their patients’ medical records routinely. The software had some problems, so the FPs couldn’t produce lists of patients based on their health risk and they couldn' t monitor their population. Almost 88% of FPs have written referral letters for all referred patients but 57% of them got medical feedback from specialists.About 80% of patients’ consultation times were up to 10 min.29% of FPs knew the past problems and illnesses of the patients. From 40% to 50% of the patients stated that their FPs asked them for their desire about prescribed medicine and gave clear explanation about their illnesses. On average, patients visited their doctor 5.5 times during the previous year. Generally, patients and FPs in Mazandaran could summarize their experiences better than Fars in most topics of COC.Conclusions: It seems that after 3 years of using urban FP program in two pilot provinces, there were still some problems in COC. Strengthen software program, introducing incentives for FPs, and promoting patients’ responsibility can be used by policy‑makers when they seek to enhance COC.

Background: Obesity is increasingly associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and weight loss through a combination of dietary modifications and increased physical activity is a primary goal of therapy in this disease. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a lifestyle modification education on adiposity measures, physical activity, and total calorie intake in overweight and obese NAFLD patients.Methods: During 8 weeks, 82 obese patients were randomly assigned into either an intervention group (n=41) receiving a lifestyle modification education or to a control group (n=41) receiving usual care. Total calorie intake, physical activity, and body composition indices were measured before and after the intervention.Results: Thirty‑six patients in intervention group and 33 in control group completed the study.The analysis of body composition variables did not show any significant reduction for percent of body fat, abdominal circumference, waist to hip ratio, visceral fat area, age matched of body, and soft lean mass (SLM) of the trunk (P>0.05). On the other hand, a significant reduction in weight, body mass index, mass of body fat (MBF), SLM, and MBF of the trunk was observed after 2 months of intervention compared to the controls (P<0.05). A significant reduction was observed in total calorie intake of intervention group as compared to the control group. Physical activity status did not show any significant improvements after 2 months of intervention.Conclusions: Our lifestyle modification education and its guidelines could be used in obese patients with NAFLD to improve their body composition measurements and to lose weight. This could result in significant long‑term benefits in NAFLD patients.

Background: To identify somatic complaints dimensions, classify studied population and study the association of demographic and lifestyle factors with somatic complaints dimensions.Methods: In a cross‑sectional study conducted on 4763 Iranian adults, somatic complaints were assessed using a comprehensive 30‑item questionnaire. Self‑administered standard questionnaires were used to assess demographic and lifestyle factors. Factor mixture modeling (FMM) was used to identify somatic complaints dimensions and classify studied population.Results: The mean age of participants was 36.58 ± 0.13 years, 55.8% were females, 81.2% were married, and 57.2% had college education. About 9.4% of individuals were obese, and 34.8% of participants had regular physical activity. Four domains of somatic complaints were extracted, including “psychological, ” “gastrointestinal, ” “neuro‑skeletal, ” and “haryngeal‑espiratory.” Females, obese and inactive participants, and those in low educations had significantly greater scores in terms of four domains than the others (P<0.05). A two‑class, four‑factor structure fitted to the somatic complaints based on FMM. Two classes were labeled “high psychological complaints” (519 individuals (11%) and “low psychological complaints” (4243 individuals (89%). There were no significant differences between two classes in terms of demographic and lifestyle factors, except in educational level.Conclusions: This study suggested that somatic complaints had a dimensional‑categorical structure within studied population so that it could be useful for dealing with diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The results did not show any association between somatic complaints dimensions and demographic, lifestyle factors, except in educational level.

For centuries, spices have been consumed as food additives or medicinal agents. However, there is increasing evidence indicating the plant‑based foods in regular diet may lower the risk of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer disease. Spices, as one of the most commonly used plant‑based food additives may provide more than just flavors, but as agents that may prevent or even halt neurodegenerative processes associated with aging. In this article, we review the role and application of five commonly used dietary spices including saffron turmeric, pepper family, zingiber, and cinnamon. Besides suppressing inflammatory pathways, these spices may act as antioxidant and inhibit acetyl cholinesterase and amyloid β aggregation. We summarized how spice‑derived nutraceuticals mediate such different effects and what their molecular targets might be. Finally, some directions for future research are briefly discussed.