This study aimed to determine the relationship between assertion and aggression with addiction potential among students in Shahroud University of Medical Sciences.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are immune mediated diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract. Several environmental factors in concert with genetic susceptibilities can trigger IBDs. Recently, one of the important environmental factors contributing to the development of autoimmune diseases is vitamin D (VitD) deficiency. Furthermore, some new evidence points to VitD deficiency and its receptor dysfunction as an underlying factor for the emergence experimental IBDs. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the correlation between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and IBD activity in patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. Sixty patients with confirmed diagnosis of IBD were recruited for a cross sectional study. Most of the identified confounders affecting serum VitD concentrations were excluded. Disease activity was assessed using validated questionnaires, including Truelove for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn Disease Activity Index (CDAI) for Crohn disease. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were determined by chemiluminescent assay. Serum 25(OH)D≤10 (ng/ml) was considered as VitD deficiency and 11≤25(OH)D<29(ng/ml) as VitD insufficiency. Mean serum 25(OH)D value was 13.1 ± 11.1(ng/ml) in IBD patients. Almost 95% of patients were vitamin D insufficient or deficient. Forty one percent of IBD patients had active disease. VitD deficiency was not associated with IBD activity (p=0.23). However, VitD deficiency was significantly associated with a history of IBD related intestinal surgery (p=0.001). In conclusion, this cross-sectional prospective study suggested that there is no association between vitamin D deficiency and disease activity in a relatively small number of IBD patients in a short period of time.

OBJECTIVES: Unhealthy lifestyles among young people are seriously related to incapacity and health problems in adulthood. The aim of this study was to determine the importance of a health-promoting lifestyle and its association with self-efficacy and well-being. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 500 students from Shahroud University of Medical Sciences (Shahroud, Iran) were randomly selected in 2017. The Persian versions of Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile, Self-Efficacy Scale, and WHO-5 Well-Being Index were used. RESULTS: Among the participants, 34% of students had an abnormal imaginable well-being, and 68% of students had high self-efficacy. The mean score of a health-promoting lifestyle was 127.47 ± 19.78, which is interpreted as moderate, and the mean score of physical activity was 14.10 ± 4.95, which is poor. There was a significant relationship between well-being, and self-efficacy with health-promoting lifestyle. Age, gender, educational level, place of residence, student employment, self-efficacy, and well-being were associated with students’ lifestyles. CONCLUSION: A health-promoting lifestyle of students in this study was moderate and they did not have an acceptable level of physical activity. The direct effect of well-being, and self-efficacy on lifestyle, revising students’ curriculums to improve their health behaviors, and general health indicators, can all lead to the enhancement of health-promoting lifestyles.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Curriculum ; Employment ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Life Style ; Motor Activity

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between self-efficacy, general health and burnout of the staff at Shahroud University of Medical Sciences.METHODS: In 2015, 249 staff at Shahroud University of Medical Sciences (from a total reference population of 520 staff members) were selected through stratified random sampling. To collect the data, Sherer self-efficacy Scale, General Health Questionnaire and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used. The collected data were analyzed through ANOVA, Pearson correlation and Chi-square tests using SPSS 16. The relationship between self-efficacy, general health and burnout (latent factors) were studied using structural equation modeling with Stata 14.RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 36.97 ± 7.60 years, and the mean number of years work experience was 12.29 ± 7.57. The mean scores of general health, self-efficacy and burnout were 28.24 ± 11.14, 62.30 ± 9.21 and 81.67 ± 22.18, respectively. The results of the study showed a statistically significant relationship between self-efficacy and general health which equals −0.32. A statistically significant relationship also existed between burnout scores and general health scores (beta = 0.78).CONCLUSION: The results showed that high self-efficacy improves the general health of employees at the Shahroud University of Medical Sciences and reduces burnout. Special attention should be paid to self-efficacy in the prevention of burnout.
Self Efficacy

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pre-hypertension and its sub-classification on the development of diabetes. METHODS: In this cohort study, 2,941 people 40 to 64 years old without hypertension or diabetes were followed from 2009 through 2014. According to the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC)-7 criteria, we classified participants into normal and pre-hypertension groups. The effect of pre-hypertension on the 5-year incidence rate of diabetes was studied using inverse probability of treatment weighting. We modeled the exposure and censored cases given confounding factors such as age, sex, body mass index, smoking, economic status, and education. RESULTS: The 5-year incidence rate of diabetes among people with pre-hypertension and those with normal blood pressure (BP) was 12.7 and 9.7%, respectively. The risk ratio (RR) for people with pre-hypertension was estimated to be 1.13 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90 to 1.41). The RRs among people with normal BP and high-normal BP, according to the JNC-6 criteria, compared to those with optimal BP were 0.96 (95% CI, 0.73 to 1.25) and 1.31 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.72), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that participants who had higher levels of BP (high-normal compared to optimal BP) had a higher risk of diabetes development. With regard to the quantitative nature of BP, using the specifically distinguishing of stage 1 hypertension or high-normal BP may be a more meaningful categorization for diabetes risk assessment than the JNC-7 classification.
Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Classification ; Cohort Studies* ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; Education ; Hypertension ; Incidence* ; Iran ; Joints ; Models, Structural* ; Odds Ratio ; Prehypertension* ; Prospective Studies* ; Risk Assessment ; Smoke ; Smoking

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pre-hypertension and its sub-classification on the development of diabetes.METHODS: In this cohort study, 2,941 people 40 to 64 years old without hypertension or diabetes were followed from 2009 through 2014. According to the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC)-7 criteria, we classified participants into normal and pre-hypertension groups. The effect of pre-hypertension on the 5-year incidence rate of diabetes was studied using inverse probability of treatment weighting. We modeled the exposure and censored cases given confounding factors such as age, sex, body mass index, smoking, economic status, and education.RESULTS: The 5-year incidence rate of diabetes among people with pre-hypertension and those with normal blood pressure (BP) was 12.7 and 9.7%, respectively. The risk ratio (RR) for people with pre-hypertension was estimated to be 1.13 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90 to 1.41). The RRs among people with normal BP and high-normal BP, according to the JNC-6 criteria, compared to those with optimal BP were 0.96 (95% CI, 0.73 to 1.25) and 1.31 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.72), respectively.CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that participants who had higher levels of BP (high-normal compared to optimal BP) had a higher risk of diabetes development. With regard to the quantitative nature of BP, using the specifically distinguishing of stage 1 hypertension or high-normal BP may be a more meaningful categorization for diabetes risk assessment than the JNC-7 classification.
Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Classification ; Cohort Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Education ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Iran ; Joints ; Models, Structural ; Odds Ratio ; Prehypertension ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Assessment ; Smoke ; Smoking

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pre-hypertension and its sub-classification on the development of diabetes. METHODS: In this cohort study, 2,941 people 40 to 64 years old without hypertension or diabetes were followed from 2009 through 2014. According to the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC)-7 criteria, we classified participants into normal and pre-hypertension groups. The effect of pre-hypertension on the 5-year incidence rate of diabetes was studied using inverse probability of treatment weighting. We modeled the exposure and censored cases given confounding factors such as age, sex, body mass index, smoking, economic status, and education. RESULTS: The 5-year incidence rate of diabetes among people with pre-hypertension and those with normal blood pressure (BP) was 12.7 and 9.7%, respectively. The risk ratio (RR) for people with pre-hypertension was estimated to be 1.13 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90 to 1.41). The RRs among people with normal BP and high-normal BP, according to the JNC-6 criteria, compared to those with optimal BP were 0.96 (95% CI, 0.73 to 1.25) and 1.31 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.72), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Our results showed that participants who had higher levels of BP (high-normal compared to optimal BP) had a higher risk of diabetes development. With regard to the quantitative nature of BP, using the specifically distinguishing of stage 1 hypertension or high-normal BP may be a more meaningful categorization for diabetes risk assessment than the JNC-7 classification.

OBJECTIVE: Major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability around the world. The relationship between depression and dietary patterns has been reported in a few studies but with controversial results. This study aimed to investigate this relationship in an Iranian population. METHODS: In our study, 330 depressed patients (cases) and healthy people (controls) (1:2) were individually matched according to age, sex and area of residence. New cases of depression were recruited from two psychiatric clinics in Tehran. Interviewers went to each patient's residential area, and invited qualified individuals to participate in the study as controls. Food intake over the past year was collected using a validated semi quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Dietary patterns were determined by the principal components method. Binary logistic regression was used to test the effect of dietary patterns on depression. RESULTS: We identified two major dietary patterns by using factor analysis: the healthy and unhealthy dietary patterns. We categorized the scores of these patterns to quartiles. After adjusting for non-depression drug use, job, marital status, children number, and body mass index, the relations of depression and quartiles of two dietary patterns are significant (p=0.04 & p=0.01, respectively). Compared with participants in the lowest quartile, those in the highest quartile had significantly lower odds ratio (OR) for depression in healthy dietary pattern, and higher OR for depression in unhealthy dietary pattern. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that healthy and unhealthy dietary patterns may be associated with the risk of depression. The results can be used for developing interventions that aim to promote healthy eating for the prevention of depression.
Body Mass Index ; Case-Control Studies* ; Child ; Depression* ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Eating ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Marital Status ; Odds Ratio

OBJECTIVES: Considering the increase in the non-communicable diseases associated with tobacco use in recent decades in Iran, it is necessary to have a general view of the current condition. This study aimed to identify factors associated with tobacco use and to estimate the probability of a 5-year transition in the stages of tobacco use in an adult population. METHODS: In this study, 5190 people in the 40-64-year-old population of Shahroud (North East of Iran) were interviewed in 2009 and 2014 on tobacco smoking. The association of independent variables with tobacco smoking was evaluated using the population-averaged logit model. We calculated smoking transition probabilities from non-smoking to current smoking and past-smoking stages during a 5-year span. RESULTS: The prevalence of current tobacco smoking in 40-69-years age group was 11.1% (95% CI 10.3-12.0), 1% among women (95% CI 0.8-1.3) and 25.6% among men (95% CI 23.7-27.6). During this 5-year period, the probability of transition of a non-smoker to an overall current tobacco smoker was 2.3%. Meanwhile, 18.5% of the overall current tobacco smokers had changed into past smokers. Unemployed (OR = 2), male gender (OR = 53.9), widow/widowers (OR = 5.4), divorces (OR = 3.3), and high economic status (OR = 1.2) are associated to tobacco smoking. CONCLUSIONS Compared with the other studies, the prevalence of tobacco use in this population is low but transition rate of non-smokers into current smokers or past smokers is high. Conducting interventions on determinants of starting and quitting smoking and education and awareness raising on the risk and harms of smoking seems necessary.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; epidemiology ; Longitudinal Studies ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Time Factors ; Tobacco Use ; epidemiology

Introduction: Sexual satisfaction is one of the important factors in marital satisfaction that affects couples' health and quality of life. The aim of this study was to determine sexual satisfaction and its related factors among married women in Shahroud, northeast of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017 and 500 married women were evaluated using Larson Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using chi-square, one-way ANOVA and a multiple regression model. Results: The mean age of the participants was 32.8 (SD= 8.7) years, and the length of the marriage was 11.05 (SD= 9.1). Among the participants, 4.4% (N=22) had low sexual satisfaction; 37.8% (N=189) had moderate satisfaction. The bivariate analysis showed significant relationships between sexual satisfaction and variables including age, husband's age, length of marriage, number of children, education, husband's education and income (p<0.001). The regression analysis also indicated significant relationships between sexual satisfaction and education (P=0.006), length of the marriage (P<0.001) and income (P=0.005). Conclusion: Socio-economic variables such as education and income are among the main factors related to sexual satisfaction. However, counseling couples on sexual issues after marriage can help improve their sexual satisfaction.