Journal of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences
Year:2001 | Volume:8 | Issue:4 (Supplement on Health)|Papers Count:20

AIDS is universally known disease whose incidence is gradually increasing in almost all countries of the world. Also, our country is not free from this increase and proper steps should be taken to control its spread. This can be done by increasing the knowledge of the common public as well as by giving proper health and hygiene instructions. This study examines the attitudes and knowledge of high school students toward AIDS by controlling factors such as age, level of education, place of education, sex and religion. A total of 1850 students were selected for this 'descriptive study. A questionnaire with 36 questions was prepared and then distributed among the students. The main aim was to achieve a mean of the attitude and knowledge relating to AIDS. The results revealed that high school students had little knowledge about AIDS 24.4% of the students had bad information, 35.1 % poor, 34.6% moderate, 5.4% good and only 3% excellent. With the increase in age and level of education, this knowledge and attitude increased. In addition, the knowledge and attitude among the High school students was more than that obtained from the students of the technical schools. Furthermore, there is no direct relationship between knowledge and attitude with religion and sex. In conclusion, the necessary information and proper instructions regarding the disease must be available to the common public.        

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common metabolic disorders that generally is caused by carbohydrate metabolism disturbance. This study was conducted to assess the information of non diabetic residents of Azad Shahr, Yazd on diabetes. A total of 280 non - diabetic cases above 18 years of age were selected for this cross - sectional study. The results showed that the information of people about the primary symptoms, late complications, diets and controlling procedures for glucose was more than their overall information about its acute complications. The information of the women was more than the men (P<0.001). With higher educational attainment, the information increased significantly (P<0.001). In addition, the results showed that 40.2% of the information about diabetes was obtained from the general public, while 18.4%, 15.4% and 14.1% was from physicians, mass media and pamphlets, respectively. Based on the results of this study, the information of the residents of Azadshahr Yazd was rated medium to good.    

The aim of water treatment is to provide safe water for drinking purposes. Every water treatment has several units. One of the important unit is filtration. In this process, water passes through pourous media for the removal of suspended solids and turbide. In recent years, a mix filter media with sand and anthracite have been used extensively in water treatment plants. Anthracite is laid up in a filter media. In this study the efficiency of the anthracite layer in the filters of Isfahan water treatment plant and the new anthracite layer are investigated. The pilot study was in two stages by new anthracite and anthracite in the bed filters of Isfahan water treatment plant with 10 years operation. The parameters of turbidity, organic compounds, heavy metals - chromium - manganese - Iron - and chlorine were studied in this prospective survey. The efficiency of turbidity and chlorine removals with the old anthracite layer was the same as the new one (P>0.05). Maximum change efficiency belongs to heavy metals including Fe2+ with 9.4% differential and minimum change of Mn2+ with 9.07%. The results showed that the efficiency of the anthracite layer for the removal of phenole as organic compounds was reduced (P<0.05).    

Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVDs), the most common cause of death in many industrial countries, have been recently reported as the number one killer among people in Iran. The controllable risk factors which could be prevented by practicing a healthy lifestyle and were studied in this research are: cigarette smoking, hypertension, high levels of cholesterol, stressful life and physical inactivity. The aim of this study was to assess the risk taking behaviors of students employees and faculties about CVDs. A stratified random sampling method was used for this study to select 650 samples (457 students 101 employees, and 92 faculty members). A closed - format questionnaire was administered to all the samples. Out of the 650 studied samples, 435 complete questionnaires were utilized for the final statistical analyses. The results showed that the prevalence of CVDs risk factors in all the forementioned groups were as follow: physical inactivity, Cigarette smoking, Family history of CVDs, Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. Comparison among the three studied groups shows that the vast majority of individuals with risk factors were faculty members. 8.2% of the cases were considered as "moderate risk" group, while none of the individuals were at high risk of CVDs. In addition, males suffered more than females from CVDs. This study suggests that for CVD risk factors modification, there must be major changes in the understanding and attitudes of the population. Accordingly, physicians as a role model who should practice the importance of preventing and controlling the risk factors, can play an important role in educating young students regarding healthy lifestyle.  

Creation of a healthy and hygenic atmosphere may not only promote the health of students but it can also serve as an appropriate pattern for school students. At present some 18millions pupils are studying in schools. was studied 101 schools selected among the qualified in 19 districts. These schools were already chosen on the basis of informative methods. Then a check list was made to determine the environmental health status of those schools. We gave marks to each of them and clarified the hygiene status of safety status. This paper is the results of the surveys for safety of schools. Also, the relationship between the general status and its type of schools, the presence of a sanitary supervisor, and the ownership status of schools. A general study showed that emphasis was put more upon some issues than some others. For example, 92% of the schools had the necessary telephone numbers, whereas only in 40% of the schools did one find suitable and useful entrance exit doors.    

The main purpose of this cross - sectional study was to investigate why husbands whose wives have undergone tubectomy refused to undergo vasectomy. 540 patients (consisting of 270 women and their husbands who voluntarily chose tubectomy) were studied. For this purpose, a questionnaire was prepared for the patients. After analysis, the four main reasons for not choosing vasectomy were specified as fear of complications (56.48), cultural problems (55.29), lack of knowledge (47.15) and logical reasons (44.81). In women, the four main reasons were as follows: fear of complications (52.71), logical reasons (50.72), cultural problems (50.07) and lack of knowledge (41.7). The results showed that the men paid more attention to fear of complication, cultural problems and lack of knowledge as compared to the women, but the logical reasons were more in women as compared to the men. The most important reason for refusing to choose vasectomy was fear for complications and the least important one was lack of knowledge. According to the data, it is indicated that the overall view of people is not very good toward vasectomy. Therefore, it is important to increase the general knowledge of people about this simple method of contraception.    

Mercury is a toxic element and inhalation of gaseous mercury is toxic and causes damages to the nervous system. A considerable amount of atmospheric mercury is in gaseous phase. The determination of the concentration of atmospheric mercury is very important in environmental studies. Sampling of mercury from the atmosphere of the city of Isfahan was performed using an impinger and a MSA pump. Paper filter (what man No.41) was used for removing air particulates during the sampling. Gaseous mercury was trapped in a solution of kmnO4 and H2SO4. The concentration of mercury determined using cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry. The results showed that the concentration of mercury varied from day to day. The lower mercury concentrations were found an the days with lower traffic densities. The mean concentration of gaseous mercury was 23 ng m -3. Higher concentrations of mercury were detected in the Cold seasons. The concentration of gaseous mercury increased during the high pollution period in 1999.

Health Services together with some other factors have caused an aging population in developed countries. Indicators show that the number of older people in Iran is increasing too. Diagnosing the most important factors related. To the ADL status of this age group is very important for the future planning. This was a descriptive - analytical and cross-sectional study with the purpose of understanding the ADL status among Yazd elderly persons. A total of 1230 old age persons including 645 males and 585 females. were selected by a clustered random sampling from the Yazd district. A questionnaire was used to collect data in face to face interviews. The results showed that in the 8 ADL the percent of complete limitation was between 1.3 to 26.9. There was an inverse relationship between age and ability of doing the activities studied. Sex was an effective factor in the ability of performing ADL. There was a significant relationship between ADL status and other variables such as educational level, marital status, previous job, living conditions (alone or with others), occupation, smoking status and number of chronic conditions. There was no significant relationship between ADL status and variables such as living location, religion and accident history. Results of this study were congruent with other studies in this area. Recommendations also are made regarding health policy and future study.  

Neonatal mortality rate is one of the important indices of health. This descriptive study was done on all of the neonatals who were born in the maternity wards of Yazd City during the year 1997. The results showed that the rates of still birth and neonatal mortality (N.M) were 10.7% and 9.3%, respectively. 65% of N.M occurred during the first 24 hrs after birth, while 95% of N.M. took place during the first week following birth. 9.6% of infants were premature, while 9.4% of them were with low birth weights. In addition, N.M in both premature and low birth weight infants was higher than the other cases. The rate of N.M was significantly related to sex, as majority of N.M took place in males (P<0.0001).Also, the rate of N.M was significantly related with the infants weight (P<0.001), mothers age (P<0.0005), birth interval and duration of child birth (P<0.0001).    

Previous studies show that coal mine workers are prone to reduction of lung capacity, lung emphizema, simple punumoconiusis or progressive massive fibrosis (pmf). As workers are exposed to mine dust, they become prone to luboliycenter emphysema associated with pmf. Hence, one of the largest coal mines of Mazandran province was selected for the determination of lung capacity, Two groups were selected, one case group (290 persons) was the workers exposed to coal dust and the control group (38 persons)was the workers who had no exposure to dust. Spiromettry was done, and the data was collected in a questionnaire; and statistical analysis was performed. Both groups were matched for age, height, length of service and history of smoking. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the groups. Then the predicted capacity of lung in the case groups basis on the ECCS (European community for coal and steel) method test with measuring of the control groups were compared and evaluated. There was no significant difference. Hence, this standard was not recognized as being suitable, For the statistical analysis the measured lung capacity in the case and control groups was used, and It was clear that there was significant difference between the case and control groups on the basis of VC (Vital Capacity), FVC (Force Vital Capacity) and FEV1 (Force Expiratory volume in one second). It was cleared that ECCS standard is not suitable for the cases under study, and there was a significant relationship between these two groups, The workers exposed to coal dust had less lung capacity as compared to the control group, Also it can be concluded that the length of service in coal mine workers has a direct effect on the reduction of lung capacity.    

Cigarette smoking is a known cause of systemic disorders such as bronchogenic carcinoma and cardiovascular diseases. There fore, a descriptive cross - sectional study was carried out in the city of Meybod during 1998. A total of 330 men over 15 years of age were selected by cluster sampling. The prevalence of cigarette smoking was 14.85%. Results also showed that the most common age for smoking beginners was between 15 to 24 years. The most common cause of smoking in all age groups was anxiety.    

Due to the variation in the prevalence of intestinal parasites in various groups in Iran, the present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites among construction workers and green land servicemen in Kashan. The present study is a descriptive retrospective analysis of 570 subjects in two urban areas of Kashan, Aran and Bidgoll. The demographic condition was recorded; three fecal samples were collected from each individual and analyzed by microscopic direct examination and formalin - ether method. The prevalence of intestinal parasites in the population was 49.2%. The prevalence of the intestinal parasite in construction workers and green land servicemen was 9.6% and 11.7%, respectively. This was 38% and 41.5% in Aran and Bidgoll, respectively. The prevalence of intestinal parasite was high in the population studied. Therefore, it is recommended that involving factors should be identified and subsequent preventive measures need to be taken into consideration.    

Hydatid cyst is the most prevalent parasitic disease in some areas of the world, especially in the Middle East. Hydatid cyst is a major health and economic problem. Camels, camelus dromedarius, are the most susceptible intermediate host of Echinococcus granulosus in hot and dry regions in the central region of Iran. The main objective of this study was to elucidate the situation of this infection in the central region of Iran. This study was performed on 144 camel carcases in the Yazd, Esfahan and Kerman provinces. The internal organs of the slaughtered camels were investigated for parasitic infections. The results showed that more than 25.7% of the camels were infected with hydatid cyst. The cysts were 67.7%, 16.2% and 16.2% fertile, sterile and calcified, respectively. In addition, there was a direct correlation between age and hydatid cyst infection. Over 10 years old camels were the most infected (54%), and the least infected camels were those less than 4 years old (10%) The rate of infections were 43.2% in male and 56.8% in female animals. Infection rate of 25'Yt.in the camels and fertility rates of the cysts 67.6% showed that camels can be the most important intermediate host of Echinococcus granulosus in central region of Iran.      

With regard to the importance of hydatidosis as one of the most common diseases among human and animals, this study was conducted to examine the prevalence of hydatid cyst in slaughtered animals at Sari slaughter house during 1999. With veterinary office and slaughter house agreement, 136442 animals were studied for hydatid cyst infection after slaughtering and separation of internal organs, The isolated lungs and livers of the animals were examined macroscopically by trained personnel under the supervision of the specialist for hydatid cyst. Following hydatid cyst observations, all information about the slaughered animal, sex and infected organ were recorded. The information was coded and analysed statisticaly. 11466 animals were infected with hydatid cyst. The rate of infection was 14.7% in sheep, 2.7% in goats and 6.3% in cattle. Liver, lung and both liver & lung infections were 5.2%, 7.4% and 2.03% in sheep, 2.4%,3% and 0.87% in cattle and 1.6%, 0.9% and 0, 37% in goats, respectively. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference in the rate of infection during different seasons. Since overall infection rate was 8.4%, the risk of human infection is also high in this region, Also the low rate of infection in goats as compared to sheeps could have a direct relation with the kind of nutrition. In addition, a low rate of infection during summer and autumn may be related with the kind of slaughered animals which are mostly goats and lambs.      

This study investigates the correlation between job environment problems and breast feeding pattern among employed women working in Isfahan hospitals. Natural nourishment of infants induce intrinsic tranquility and pleasure of life. Employed women who are breast feeding have many problems in their job environment. Therefore, this research was conducted to determine the effect of job's privilege and B.F pattern of mothers. This survey was a descriptive - analytical study. The job categories of Midwifery, Nurse, LPN and Technician were the units selected by a simple randomized sampling method. The data was collected using a questionnaire consisting of four parts: Demographic characteristics, the second and third parts had 35 questions and 33 privileges. The fourth part measured the B.F pattern with score of Excellent, Good, Moderate, Bad. Study findings showed that the majority of units (40.6%) were nurses. 84% used an excellent pattern of B.F during leave occupation after delivery that reduced to 28% with finish this period. Also, 48.5% of mothers with job responsibilities followed the excellent pattern of B.F, and only 15.5% had bad B.F pattern. 87% of units had previous experience and only 12% of mothers didnot. The results showed that high units had excellent B.F pattern and job environment feasibility can affect the Natural B.F. Because milk secretion is one of the neuroendocrine process that is affected by psychological stress, stressful environment would induce inappropriate B.F. In addition, a significant relationship was found between breast feeding and psychological tranquility of mothers.    

Students from the biggest portion of any community. There fore, their health status is at high risk. A safety education and a healthy environment play an important role to prevent diseases and accidents. This descriptive - census and cross - sectional study was done on 169 primary schools in yazd. A questionnaire was used by observation method. The findings showed that 83.4% of schools were in urban area, while 16.6% of them were in rural areas. 81.4% of school buildings were new. The garbage collections in 65.8% of the schools were done on regular basis. However, 34.2% of the schools did not have a regular service for garbage pick up. 99.3% of urban school had good drinking water conditions but only 67.9% of rural schools had satisfactory drinking water services. 64.4% of the bathrooms and 32.4% of water -Fountains were satisfactory. Health services and the level of classes matched the standard rules. Unfortunately, over 73% of the school was lacking the fire extinguishers.