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History and Objectives: Considering the role significance of Giardia and Sarcocystis in contamination of human beings and domestic animals and lack of information on its condition in Iran, this study was carried out to determine the contamination rate of dog-related animals for Giardia and Sarcocystis during the years 1999-2001.

Materials and Methods: The descriptive and randomized strategy of this study was conducted on 142 carnivores during four seasons from different regions of Kashan and captured by shooting. After capturing, small and large intestine were isolated and incubated in 10% formalin and transferred to parasitologic laboratory. Animal’s characteristics including genus, age and microscopic findings were recorded in special forms. Data were classified and statistically analyzed with a confidence interval of 95%.

Results: Out of 142 carnivores, 70 dogs, 40 jackals, 22 foxes and 10 wolves were identified. Their age range was from 2 months to 5 years. Contamination rate for intestinal protozoa was 76.1% (108). Contamination rate for Giardia caies in dog and jackal was 5.7% and 5% respectively. Contamination rate for Giardia flis was 22.7% in fox. No contamination with Giardia caies was observed in wolf. Contamination rate for Sarcocystis in jackal, wolf, dog and fox was 50%, 50%, 41.4% and 18.4% respectively. Contamination rate for both Giardia and Sarcocystis was 40%, 32.5%, 28.6% and 9.1% in wolf, jackal, dog and fox respectively.

Conclusion and Recommendations: Contamination rate for Giardia and Sarcocystis in dog-related animals was greater than expected in Kashan region. In this respect, appropriate controlling measures should be taken and it is recommended to determine the most appropriate preventive method

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Background: Due to augmented spread of cutaneus leishmaniasis in our country that impose great economic problems for the sufferers and also with respect to the lack of informative data regarding its status in Kashan, The present study was conducted in 1994-2000 to determine the prevalence of cutaneus leishmaniasis in patients referring to parasitology laboratories in Kashan.

Material and methods : A descriptive study was carried on all referred patients to laboratories during a 7- year period, 1994-2000. Initial data including age, sex, occupation, place of resident, and number of lesions were all recorded. Suspected individuals were asked for samples and Leishman body was surveyed by a microscope following the gimsa staining.

Results : The incidence rate of cutaneus Leishmaniasis was reported 50.2% in females and 49.2% in males. The highest prevalence rate (37.9%) was shown in 0-10 years old subjects. More than one active lesion was reported in 30.3% of individuals. Hands were more commonly affected (45.6%).

Conclusion : With respect to the increased prevalence of cutaneus leishmaniasis in Kashan, health care observers should pay further attention on preventing the disease spread

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Background: The most common form of ocular infection is conjunctivitis. The aim of this study is to determine the most prevalent causes of bacterial conjunctivitis and antibiotic sensitivity in Mostafa Khomeini Hospital.

Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, we evaluated symptom, pathogen and effective antibiotic sensitivity in bacterial conjunctivitis. In the present research, 150 cases of conjunctivitis referred to Shaheed Mostafa Khomeini Hospital were studied from Jun. 1999 to Mar. 2000. Our study was carried out based on questionnaires, examinations, cultures and antibiograms.

Results: The prevalence of conjunctivitis and bacterial conjunctivitis were 3.2% and 2.1%, respectively. The age limit of the patients under study was 3 days to 65 years. Positive culture in cases was 66.6%. The frequency of conjunctivitis was equal in both males and females. The most frequent age of conjunctivitis was in 0-1 group. The most frequent symptoms in patients were hyperemia & tearing. The frequency of isolated pathogens were: staph. Aurous (38%) penumococcus (11%) pseudomonas (10%) haemophilus (8%) enterobacter, klebsiella, ecoli, staph. Epidermis (each 7%) entrococcus (4%) and moraxella catarrhal (1%). The percentages of antibacterial sensitivity of isolated pathogens were: chloramphenicol 80% gentamycin 76% erythromycin 71% and tetracycline 65%.

Conclusion: This study showed that the most common causes of bacterial conjunctivitis are pneumococcus, haemophilus influenza and staphylococcus. Empiric therapy with new local antibiotics seems to be appropriate. Culture is not necessary except in severe, recurrent or epidemic form of conjunctivitis.

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Background: Migraine headache is one of the most common causes of headache which influences on th quality of life and performance of the patients. Migraine headache has some co-morbidities like depression and anxiety. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of panic attacks in migraine patients of Baqiyatallah Hospital in 2004.

Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study in Baqiyatallah Hospital, 85 patients who according to Internal Headache Society criteria had migraine headache, were evaluated for panic attack. Diagnosis of panic attack was made through interview and questionnaire according to DSM-IV criteria. T -Test and Chi-Square were used to analyze the data.

Results: The patients consisted of 23 males and 62 females. 41 patients (48.2%) had panic attacks 36 of whom were female. 29 patients were married. 27 patients (69%) with education of less than diploma, 10 patients (41%) with diploma and only 4 patients (18.2%) with education higher than diploma had panic attack (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The prevalence of panic attack in the patients with migraine is higher than what was expected (48.2%). The higher education, the less panic attack.

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Background: Intestinal parasitic infection is one of the major health problems in the world, especially in developing countries. The prevalence of infection in Iran varies among different social groups. As the geriatric are high risk group, the present study was carried out in order to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in geriatric and�disabled residents of Kashan Golabchi Center, during 2006-2007.

Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study a total of 297 stool samples (obtained from 243 geriatric and disabled and 54 office personnels) were randomly collected and examined by both direct, and formalin ether concentration methods. The demographic data (i.e. sex and age) and confidence interval were recorded for the study. X² test was used for statistical analysis.

Results: One hundred ninety one (78.6%) out of 243 geriatric and disabled were infected with pathogen and nonpathogenic intestinal parasites (CI=78.6 ± 5.16). The prevalence of pathogenic intestinal parasites was 42.9%. Infection rate in the male disabled was higher than that in the female (P=0.001). The prevalence of pathogenic protozoa was as follows: Blastocystis hominis, 33.3% Entamoeba histolytica/ E.dispar, 16.5 % Giardia lamblia, 4.5% and Dientamoeba fragilis, 1.6%. Also the prevalence of nonpathogenic protozoa was: Entamoeba coli, 49.4% Chilomastix mesnili, 23.5% Entamoeba hartmanni, 23.9% Endolimax nana, 11.5% and Iodamoeba butschlli, 6.6%.

The prevalence of helminthes infections was as follows: Taenia, 1.6% Hymenolepis nana, 0.8% Strongyloides stercoralis, 0.4% and Enterobius vermicularis, 1.6%.

 Infection rate in the office personnel was 49.3%. The prevalence of Blastocystis hominis, Entamoeba coli and Enterobius vermicularis was 31.5%, 20.4% and 8.5%, respectively. Regarding the severity of infection, 42.8% were infected with one parasite, 24% with two parasites, 18.2% with three parasites and 15% with more than four parasites.

Conclusion : Infection with intestinal parasites, especially pathogenic parasites, was higher than what was expected. Considering the importance of parasitic infection in geriatric and disabled people and the susceptibility of these groups to risk factors (i.e., overcrowding and immunosuppressive predisposition of these group), it seems that controlling and treating the infection is important.

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Background: Insomnia is a distressing and disabling condition affecting not only many people's quality of life and work but also their psychosocial conditions. Therefore, this research has done to survey insomnia prevalence among 18 years old people and over in Kashan city in 2008.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional research has performed done in Kashan using randomized sampling (N=1155). The research tools contain demographic characteristics questionnaire and insomnia questionnaire based on DSM-IV criteria including difficult falling asleep, staying asleep and daytime sleepiness. Its validity was confirmed by five psychiatrists the reliability of this questionnaire with test-retest method was 99%. The data were analyzed via Chi square, Fisher exact test and OR, CI. Results: Of 1155 persons, 684 (59.2) had insomnia problem. Insomnia problem is extremely prevalent among those who were between 41 to 65 years old (266 of persons 67.9) and women (387 of persons 56.5). This study showed that there was a significant relationship between insomnia problem and mental disorder history [P<0/0001, OR=2.24], sleep disorder in family history [P<0/0001, OR=4.67] and drinking caffeine before sleep [P<0/001, OR=1.64]. Conclusion: According to this study, most people studied suffer from insomnia problem, particularly women and middle aged people. Since insomnia can be a risk factor for onset of depression and anxiety disorders, and increases direct and indirect medical costs among other consequences it is necessary to prepare an exact schedule for resolving this problem and improving sleep quality.

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Background: Postpartum depression is a serious problem that may have negative effects on mother and family mental health. Considering that several theories have been proposed to explain the epidemiologic and demographic factors associated with the postpartum depression, the aim of this study was to identify the factors related to postpartum depression in Kashan.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 50% of all health centers in Kashan were randomly selected during 2007-8. All of 204 mothers referred during 2-3 months of postpartum with minimum literacy (primary education) showed willingness to complete the questionnaire which included two parts: demographic and psychosocial questions and BDI (Beck Depression Inventory). Data were analyzed using Chi-square test, CI, OR, and logistic regression.

Results: Seventy-seven (37.7%) out of 204 mothers referred to Kashan health centers experienced postpartum depression (0.31-0.44). There was a statistically significant relationship between seven demographic and psychosocial factors and postpartum depression, in logistic regression (P<0.001), three factors (husband's appropriate behavior, intimate relationship with family, and no prior history of depression) were remained in the model. The findings indicated that the mentioned factors can reduce the incidence of postpartum depression.

Conclusion: According to the results, factors including husband's appropriate behavior, intimate relationship with family and no prior history of depression may reduce the incidence of postpartum depression.

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Background: Fasciolosis is one of the most important parasitic disease common among both humans and livestock. Considering the health and economic importance of the disease, an understanding of the epidemiology of Fasciolosis is highly crucial. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and severity of Fasciola infection in animals from different geographical regions of Iran during 2009-10.

Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, 11100 livers taken from slaughtered sheep and cattle were carefully examined for Fasciola parasites at the six industrial slaughterhouses of East Azerbaijan, Khorasan-Razavi, Khuzestan, Fars, Mazandaran and Markazi provinces. All Fasciola parasites isolated from the livers of infected animals were transferred to the laboratory, and then the parasite species were identified and counted. Finally, the frequency distribution and the severity of infection were analyzed.

Results: In this study, 1.10% of the total sheep and cattle slaughtered in six industrial slaughterhouses were found positive for Fasciolosis. The severity of Fasciola in sheep and cattle livers was 7.77±0.42 and 15.24±1.78, respectively. Khorasan Razavi and Fars provinces had the highest (14.54±3.16) and lowest (7.75±0.79) severity of infection, respectively.

Conclusion: Results of the study show a reduction in the prevalence and severity of Fasciolosis in sheep and cattle. But considering the importance of the disease and its endemicity, the preventive measures should be taken against the animal and human Fasciolosis in Iran.

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Background: As the congenital hypothyroidism is preventable only by the timely diagnosis of the disease, the aim of present study is to evaluate the results of the screening program carried out during 2006-2014.

Materials and Methods: One hundred and eleven out of the 54,468 newborn screened for this cross sectional study during 2006 to 2014 were identified as the cases. Fisher's exact test at a significance level of 5% was used for the analysis.

Result: Considering the prevalence rate of 2 per 1000 births, the rate for girls and boys were 1.9 and 2.2 per 1000 births, respectively. The difference between the rates was not statistically significant. The recall rate was 46.65 per 1000 births. Twenty seven percent of the patients had a positive history of disease and 27.9% the familial relationship. The highest prevalence of the disease (33.4%) was in the summer.

Conclusion: The findings disclosed that the inaccuracy of the initial sampling from the heel of the cases. So for the reduction of sampling errors and not wasting the golden time of treatment, it is mandatory to employ the trained personnel for initial sampling. Although above the international standard level, the overall prevalence of the disease during these years was the same rate in the country.

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Background: Renal system deposits are uncommon in the neonatal period and its exact prevalence is not fully understood. The present study was conducted due to the lack of a similar study in Iran aimed to determine the prevalence of renal sediment and the factors affecting its occurrence in Iranian neonates and to compare with similar studies in other communities.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 200 infants who were hospitalized in the intensive care unit of Imam Reza Hospital, Kermanshah, Iran in 2017, were included in the study by available sampling method. The mean age of the newborn was 4.06 days, of which 117 were boys (58.5%) and 83 were girls (41.5%).
Results: The results showed that the overall prevalence of kidney deposits was 2.5%, including 2% nephrolithiasis and 0.5% nephrocalcinosis and there was a statistically significant relationship between the type of renal sediment and the age of the neonates at the time of admission, oxygen and ventilator use (P<0.001), also.
Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the prevalence of renal deposits (nephrolithiasis and nephrocalcinosis) in neonates admitted to the intensive care unit was lower than similar reports in other communities.

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Background: Covid-19 disease is caused by infection with the SARS-COV-2 virus. The prevalence of the disease is almost similar between men and women, but the mortality rate is higher in men than women. This study assesses the cellular and molecular aspects involved in the difference of severity and mortality of Covid-19 disease between men and women.
Materials and Methods: papers published in Science direct, Google, Google scholar and Pubmed databases during 2019 to 2021 based on keywords individually or in combination including "COVID-19", "SARS-COV-2", " "sex differences", "gender", "gender differences", "severity" and "mortality" were collected and after deleting similar papers and irrelevant papers, the rest were assessed.
Results: The majority of studies have shown that the prevalence of Covid-19 disease is approximately equal between men and women, while the severity of the disease and the resulting mortality in men are significantly higher than in women.
Conclusion: A combination of genetic and immunological factors, differences in hormone secretion, and lifestyle can be considered as factors which differences in disease severity, and mortality between the sexes. Stronger innate and specific immune systems in women, escape from X-chromosome inactivation in areas of immune-related genes, and the estrogen-boosting effect on the female immune system can be important factors in low mortality of Covid-19 disease in women compared to men. In addition, environmental factors such as smoking can affect the severity and mortality of Covid-19 disease, which is more common in men.

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