Journal of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences
Year:2013 | Volume:19 | Issue:4 (66)|Papers Count:12

Background: Adiponectin is an adipocytokine which may be a marker for coronary artery disease and appears to have protective metabolic and anti-inflammatory properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between serum adiponectin levels and insulin resistance, blood pressure, and cardio-respiratory function in sedentary men.Methods and materials: In this semi-experimental study, 45 young men, without experience of regular physical activity during the last six months, were selected. After 12 h fasting (at 8 A.M.), blood samples were collected to determine serum levels of adiponectin, insulin, and glucose. Cardio-respiratory function of subjects was estimated using Balke’s treadmill protocol and their blood pressure was measured by sphygmomanometer. Data was analyzed by SPSS 16.0 software and the relationships were evaluated by Pearson’s correlation coefficient. P value of less than 0.01 was considered statistically significant.Results: Adiponectin levels were negatively correlated with body mass index (r=-0.41, p<0.002), insulin (r=-0.45, p<0.009), glucose (r=-0.27, p<0.007), and HOMA index (r=-0.40, p<0.002), and positively correlated with maximal oxygen uptake (r=0.31, p<0.006). No significant correlations were observed between adiponectin levels and systolic (r=-0.13, p<0.097) or diastolic blood pressure (r=-0.09, p<0.117).Conclusions: It appears that in sedentary men, who have lower cardio-respiratory fitness, lower adiponectin levels may be associated with abnormal glycemia, promoting the probability of type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease in these subjects.Also, serum concentrations of adiponectin are directly correlated with cardio-respiratory function, but it appears that there is no correlation between adiponectin levels and blood pressure.

Background: Diabetes is one of the most important metabolic disorders. Health education and behavioral improvement methods are effective ways for preventing and controlling diabetes. The present study investigated the effect of behavioral modification education on knowledge, attitude, self-care, and life quality in patients with type II diabetes.Materials and methods: This experimental study was conducted using a pretest-posttest control group design. From patients with type II diabetes presenting to Bojnurd Health Center, 40 patients were selected according to the eligibility criteria and were assigned randomly to two groups, the treatment group (20 patients) and the control group (20 patients). A 5-section questionnaire was run in two stages to determine the demographic information and to measure knowledge (reliability 0.84), attitude (reliability 0.81), self-care (reliability 0.91), and quality of life (SF-20; reliability 0.79). Validity of the questionnaire was approved by experts. The educational program for modification of habits and nutrition was conducted in five 30- minute sessions. Data was analyzed using SPSS 18 software.Results: The mean age of the patients was 52.17±7.58 years.The results showed that educational intervention had no significant effect on knowledge. However, this program had significant effects on attitude toward the illness (p=0.001), self-care (p=0.001), and quality of life (p=0.001).Conclusion: Implementing health care and changing inappropriate behaviors, type II diabetic patients would be able to change their attitude toward life and lifestyle. Such programs should be continuous and it is advisable to supplement the clinical and psychological methods with pharmacological ones.

Background: Prior research indicates that the relationship between inflammatory enzymes and total antioxidant status, and the effect of gender on this relationship have not been determined clearly. For this reason, the aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of gender differences on the relationship between total antioxidant status and inflammatory enzymes following intensive aerobic exercise in young athletes.Materials and methods: This research was conducted using a semi-experimental method with repeated measures. The statistical population consisted of volunteer athletes, 15 female and 15 male, from Urmia, who participated in this study after having expressed their consent through a consent form. The subjects performed intensive aerobic exercise test (speed: 12 km/h, gradient: 5%, time: 20 minutes) and blood samples were collected in three stages, before, immediately after, and 3 h after the exercise (recovery) for measurement of total antioxidant status (TAS), creatine phosphokinase (CPK), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. The blood samples were analyzed by an autoanalyzer. Data was analyzed by SPSS 18 and Excel 2010 software packages.Result: Statistical analysis showed a significant relationship between TAS concentration and LDH and CPK levels in girls (p<0.006 and p<0.02, respectively), while in boy athletes, a significant relationship was reported only between TAS concentration and CPK level (p<0.015).Conclusion: Intensive aerobic exercise can affect inflammatory enzyme levels in athletes, and the high levels of these enzymes have a stimulating effect on the antioxidant response. Gender differences also affect this response and female athletes have a better immune response than male athletes.

Background: Increasing evidence has shown that diabetes induces cognitive dysfunction and impairs learning and memory.Berberine, which is an isoquinoline alkaloid with multiple pharmacological effects including anti-diabetic and antioxidant activity, could improve learning and spatial memory impairment in STZ-induced diabetes in rats.Material and methods: Male Wistar rats (n=40) were randomly allocated and similarly grouped into control, berberine-treated non-diabetic (100 mg/kg), diabetic, and berberine-treated diabetic (50, 100 mg/kg) groups. Diabetes was induced by STZ administration at the dose of 55 mg/kg through i.p. route.Berberine hydrochloride was administered p.o. at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg/day 1 week after STZ injection for a period of 6 weeks. Blood samples were taken from the tail vein 1, 3, 5, and 7 weeks after STZ injection to measure blood glucose levels.Behavioral tests, including spatial recognition and objective recognition, were performed at the end of the study as described below.Results: Berberine-treated diabetic groups (50, 100 mg/kg/day) showed dose-dependent significant differences with diabetic group in spatial recognition and objective recognition tests, including the number of entries into the new arms and also the number of rearings into the new arms of Y maze. Moreover, compared with the diabetic group, objective recognition test score increased in berberine-treated diabetic group (50, 100 mg/kg), but not significantly.Conclusion: Berberine hydrochloride administration for 6 weeks improves cognitive dysfunction in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Background: Family medicine is a global effort to improve quality, cost-effectiveness, and equality in health care systems.Family medicine is bound to maintain and promote family and community health. Increasing people’s satisfaction with the Family Physician Plan is one of these goals. This study aimed to determine the rate of satisfaction with family medicine in the population insured by Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences.Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Data was collected by a two-part questionnaire measuring satisfaction in 8 scopes. Totally 1250 samples were selected randomly in each class. Data was analyzed with SPSS 17, using independent t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient.Results: Collectively, 1199 questionnaires were analyzed. Of the sample population, 69.4% were housewives; 72.1% were female, 85.3% were married, 86.4% were rural residents, and 90.9% received services from public centers. In the studied scopes, the highest and lowest levels of satisfaction were observed, respectively, in payment costs and trust and belief in family medicine performance. Relationship of sex, age, job and marital status with satisfaction rate was no significant. Also relationship between residence, education level, and type of center with the rate of satisfaction with family medicine was statistically significant.Conclusion: Results show that higher education level and receiving services from urban and private centers lead to more satisfaction for clients.

Background: Identifying the learning styles of anatomy in students is one of the most important considerations for applied anatomy education. During the last decades, the methods for teaching anatomy have undergone extensive changes in the entire the world. For example, the systemic approach in anatomical education has replaced the regional approach for better educational outcome. In this study, the traditional lecturing method and the modern problem-based learning (PBL) method were compared.Materials and methods: This descriptive analytical study was conducted on 142 medical students, 51 male and 91 female, at the Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences. After explaining the learning styles, general anatomy was taught using the conventional method (lectures) or PBL method to small groups of students (n=6). Data was collected using a questionnaire consisting of check lists to assess the students’ views and attitude.Results: The average age of the students was 19.75±1.40 years in males and 19.25±1.36 years in females. There was a significant difference between selection of anatomical education (PBL and lectures) as the first priority and gender (p<0.01). On the other hand, there was no significant difference between audiovisual learning methods and any of the two teaching styles.Integrated teaching style (including both lectures and PBL method) was rated better by students than either of the two teaching styles.Conclusion: As expressed by the students, the integrated style (including both lectures and PBL method) was evaluated better than either lectures method or PBL method for anatomical education.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of physical activity level and sedentary behavior with diet patterns among 12-14–year-old adolescent boys in Sabzevar.Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 650 male students aged 12-14 years in Sabzevar.The students were selected via classified random sampling. Physical activity levels were assessed by the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C). Energy and macronutrient intake was assessed by means of a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Sedentary behaviors of subjects were assessed by means of a questionnaire created by the researcher.Result: There was no significant correlation between physical activity level and energy and macronutrient intake. In all subjects, there was no significant difference in the reported energy and macronutrient intake between physical activity levels. However, in 12-year-old subjects, energy intake, total fat, protein, and carbohydrates were significantly higher in low physical activity level subjects than moderate physical activity level subjects. There was a significant positive correlation between physical activity level and number of breakfast consumptions per week. There was no statistically significant correlation between the reported energy and macronutrient intake and sedentary behaviors.Conclusion: There was no significant difference in the reported energy and macronutrient intake between physical activity levels among 12-14–year-old students. However, energy and macronutrient intake were somewhat higher in low physical activity level subjects than in active subjects. The results suggest that nutrition education regarding balanced diet and optimum physical activity is required for children’s health and growth.

Background: Many diseases are related to the condition of the building environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of sick building syndrome symptoms in the office staff of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences.Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, all the office staff of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences were surveyed using a standard questionnaire (NIOSH) for the signs of sick building syndrome.Results: The results showed that of the 69 people surveyed, about 62.7% felt tired, 27.1% felt vertigo, and 24.28% felt sleepy during the past year at work, while approximately 95% stated that the symptoms disappeared after leaving work. Average concentration of carbon monoxide was 3.4 ppm and that of sulfur dioxide was 0.027 ppm.Conclusion: In view of the fact that the measured concentrations of carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide were very low and the prevalence rate of illness among the staff in the building was not high, it can be concluded that the building was not a sick building and the prevalence of the symptoms of sick building syndrome in the headquarters staff of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences is not significant.

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most important occupational health issues in the world.Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 333 stay-at-home working mothers. We used modified Nordic questionnaire for this study. Data was collected by trained interviewers.Results: The most common musculoskeletal disorders were in the low back (49.5%), neck (24.1%), and shoulder (21.2%) areas.The results showed that there were significant relationships between low back and knee pain and BMI (p=0.008), between shoulder pain and laundry method (p=0.04), between leg pain and house cleaning method (p=0.01), and between knee pain and use of stairways (p=0.004).Conclusion: There is a significant relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and the use of various devices in household chores. More research is recommended to clearly identify the correlates of musculoskeletal disorders.

Background: Transient global cerebral ischemia causes extensive neuronal damage in the brain and leads to a deficit in learning and memory. We designed the present study to investigate the effect of exercise preconditioning on learning and spatial memory following transient cerebral ischemia in rat.Materials and methods: In this experimental study, 50 male Wistar rats weighing 250-300g were randomly allocated to different groups. Exercise was done by treadmill and, for inducing cerebral ischemia, both common carotid arteries were occluded for 10 minutes. Memory was evaluated using a step-through passive avoidance task. Sensory motor deficits were assessed by adhesive removal test. For evaluating slip ratio, we used ledged beam walking test.Results: One week after transient cerebral ischemia, response latency decreased in passive avoidance test. Also touch time, remove time, and slip ratio were increased in these animals. Exercise preconditioning improved the measured indices in ischemic rats.Conclusion: Exercise preconditioning improved deficits in learning and memory, as well as sensory-motor function, following transient cerebral ischemia.