Rationate: In recent years, global warming, climate change, environmental pollution driven by human activities, expansion of settlement areas, and mining operations within the Tuul river basin have been increasingly recognized as major factors affecting the river’s water quality, pollution levels, and flow regime [1, 3].
In particular, air and soil pollution in Ulaanbaatar, the quality and composition of effluent from the central wastewater treatment plant, water use by thermal power plants and boilers, as well as increasing domestic and industrial water consumption, continue to exert pressure on the Tuul river system [4, 6]. In addition, gold mining activities in the Zaamar area further contribute to the deterioration of water quality.
These combined pressures highlight the growing vulnerability of the Tuul river ecosystem and underline the need for detailed, spatially differentiated assessment of water quality along its course, especially within and downstream of urbanized areas. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess and evaluate the level of pollution in the Tuul river by spatially dividing the river into zones based on the results of chemical analysis. Materials and Methods: This study utilized water quality data obtained from laboratory analyses of Tuul River water samples conducted by the Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment between 2022 and 2024. The data were accessed and used with official permission from the relevant authority.
The study was designed as a descriptive cross-sectional analysis. The research area was divided into three zones and 14 monitoring sites. A total of 373 water samples were analyzed based on 15 chemical parameters. Ethics: Before initiating the study, the research methodology and procedures were reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Ach Medical University. An official request was submitted to the National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring to obtain permission for the use of research data, and the data were used upon receiving approval.
To assess the water quality of the Tuul river, a statistical analysis was conducted on 15 key parameters across Zones 1, 2, and 3 using SPSS and Microsoft Excel. The study calculated arithmetic means and standard deviations to evaluate the data. A total of 373 samples, collected from 14 monitoring points within these three zones over a three-year period, were included in the analysis. Results: The three-year average concentrations of water quality indicators differed across Zones 1, 2, and 3. In Zones 2 and 3, key indicators including dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium nitrogen, mineral phosphorus, and chromium corresponded to Class IV and V levels of surface water quality classification, indicating heavy to extreme pollution. Conclusion
1. The chemical indicators reflecting the water quality and pollution level of the Tuul River show clear spatial variation along its course. The upper reach entering the city is relatively unpolluted, the central urban section experiences noticeable contamination, and the downstream section accumulates the highest level of pollution.
2. The main surface water pollution indicators in Zones 2 and 3 fall within heavily polluted (IV) and very heavily polluted (V) categories, indicating a strong influence of human activities and urbanization.
3. The average fluoride concentration in all zones exceeds the permissible limit defined by relevant standards by 2.5–3.9 times. Consumption of surface water with elevated fluoride levels may lead to fluorosis in humans, while livestock drinking water along the Tuul River may experience reduced productivity and disruption of normal bone structure development.

Background: Female pattern hair loss (FPHL), a common form of alopecia in postmenopausal women, is influenced by multiple factors. Several contributing factors have been identified in the development of FPHL, which include aging, alterations in sex steroid hormones, genetic predisposition, nutritional deficiencies, and obesity. Aim: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of FPHL among postmenopausal women and investigate its association with metabolic risk factors. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2026 at the National Dermatology Center, enrolling 30 postmenopausal women aged 50–65 years. Hair density was assessed using the ASL 202 Lens (Aram Huvis, South Korea). Severity of FPHL was classified according to Ludwig Classification into grades I–III. Results: The average age and BMI were 55.63±3.55 years and 27.85±4.3 kg/m², respectively. Severity of FPHL by Ludwig grades I, II, and III was 56.7% (n=17), 40% (n=12), and 3.3% (n=1), respectively. The average BMI and fasting glucose level were significantly higher in the grade I group, compared to grades II and III (p=0.001). According to Spearman’s correlation analysis, a negative correlation was observed between BMI and hair density (r=-0.53, p=0.003). Linear regression analysis revealed that BMI (β coefficient 0.413; 95% CI: 0.007, 0.09; p=0.023) and fasting glucose level (β coefficient 0.458; 95% CI: 0.028, 0.2; p=0.011) were significantly associated with FPHL. Conclusion Among postmenopausal women, grade I female pattern hair loss was the most prevalent type, and elevated BMI and fasting glucose level might be associated with increased severity of FPHL.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the primary cause of cervical cancer, with HPV genotypes 16 and 18 classified as high-risk types. In Mongolia, HPV testing has been increasingly implemented in recent years, alongside updates to the national screening program. These developments highlight the need for additional testing approaches to encourage regular participation in the national screening program, improve diagnostic accuracy, and facilitate timely treatment planning. These considerations provided the rationale for this study. Aim: To detect HPV infection in cervical samples collected by healthcare professionals and vaginal samples self-collected by women, determine the concordance between the test results, and evaluate the feasibility of self-sampling for cervical cancer screening. Materials and Methods: A total of 206 women aged 25–68 years participated in the study. Two types of samples for HPV testing and one sample for PAP smear were collected from the participants. 14 high-risk of HPV genotypes were classified into three groups, and cytological findings were evaluated according to the 2014 Bethesda System. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 30.0. Results: The concordance between the two sampling methods for HPV detection kappa was 0.949. High-risk HPV genotypes were detected in 50 women (35.2%) among the participants with available test results. Cytological abnormalities were identified in 51% of women who tested positive for HPV. Conclusion Self-sampling is a reliable method for HPV detection, demonstrating good concordance with healthcare professional-collected cervical samples. It has considerable potential to increase cervical cancer screening coverage and improve access to screening, particularly in geographically remote areas.

Background: Globally, an estimated 13% of adolescents aged 10–19 are affected by mental disorders. As of 2020, the number of children under the age of 19 in Mongolia was reported to be 1,289,587, reflecting a 0.9% increase compared to 2015. A 2013 study on adolescents found that 60.5% were categorized as mentally healthy, 30.5% exhibited emotional and behavioral difficulties, and 9% were diagnosed with a mental disorder. A study conducted in Govi-Altai Province between 2018 and 2019 reported that 58.6% of adolescents were classified as healthy, 36.1% experienced psychological difficulties, and 5.2% were diagnosed with a mental disorder. Internationally, adolescent mental health has been widely assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), with an increasing number of studies employing artificial intelligence-based predictive models. However, in Mongolia, research utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning for analyzing large-scale mental health data remains limited. This gap underscores the need for the present study. Aim: Machine learning models were compared to determine adolescent emotional and behavioral problems using the SDQ. Materials and Methods: Data was collected from teenagers, teachers, and parents in Govi-Altai Province, and the databases were created for each group. The teenager database was divided into 10 folds by cross-validation, and the models were developed using machine learning methods and evaluated using their performance measures. The results were mainly analyzed using the Bayes model. Results: The teenagers have emotional and behavioral problems due to emotional and peer interactions, but they are at risk of developing disorders due to hyperactivity and behavioral changes. Conclusion Comparing the model performance results with previous studies, Bayesian model accuracy decreased by 0.03, sensitivity decreased by 0.08, and specificity increased by 0.01. Also, the difference between the performance evaluation metrics of the C50 and Bayesian models is very small, between 0.01 and 0.02. This shows that the performance of the Bayesian method is good when the number of attributes in the database increases. Compared to the results of the knowledge generated by the research, the participants are more likely to develop emotional and behavioral disorders due to their peer relationship indicators, such as other children generally not liking them, getting on better with adults, and due to emotional symptoms such as being unhappy and depressed.

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma incidence and mortality per 100,000 population in Mongolia is the highest in the world. The individual’s genetic factors and new genetic changes are considered an important effect on the origin and development cancer. We aimed to investigate whether p53R72P polymorphisms were associated with the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in Mongolian patients. Material and Method: p53R72P polymorphisms were evaluated in 80 controls and 38 HCC cases using a PCRrestriction fragment length polymorphism assay. Results: The mean age was 58.5±13.6 years in the case group and 63.2±8.1 years in the control group. Hepatocellular carcinoma is most common in 50-59 (n=14, 36.8%) and 60-69 (n=14, 36.8%) ages. Of the HCC group, 4 (10.8%) were diagnosed with tumor at stage II, 23 (62.2%) at stage III, and 11 (27%) at stage IV.
The results revealed that the heterozygous (Arg/Pro (PR)) genotype of p53R72P increased statistically significant the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (OR=4.222, 95% CI 1.669-10.684) compared to the wildtype (R/R) genotype. (p=0.002). Moreover, the homozygous (Pro/Pro (P/P)) genotype of p53R72P increased the risk of carcinoma (OR=1.333, 95% CI 0.414-4.299) but not statistically significant. (p=0.63). Heterozygous (Arg/Pro (PR)) genotype of p53R72P in the tumor tissue was associated with a statistically significant (OR=3.3, 95% CI 1.274-8.57) increase in the risk of HCC (p=0.014). Pro/Pro (PP) genotype increased the risk of the carcinoma by 2.4 times (OR=2.44, 95% CI 0.865-6.908), but it was not significant. (p=0.092). Pro/Pro (PP) genotype of p53R72P in the tumor tissue compared to normal tissue of a case group increased the risk of cancer by 1.8 times (OR=1.833, 95% CI 0.472- 7.126), which was not statistically significant (p=0.382). Conclusion Taken together, Heterozygous (Arg/Pro (PR)) genotype of p53R72P increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in Mongolians. Further studies with larger populations are needed to confirm these results.

Introduction: Wilms’ tumor 1gene was originally discovered as mutated in nephroblastoma, a common pediatric kidney cancer also known as Wilms’ tumor. This gene’s product alteration was indicating the safety of WT1 immunotherapy as well as a potential therapeutic response to its application in patients with glioma. Goal: Our aim was to further elucidate the role of WT1 as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in brain glioma in neuropathology field. Materials and Methods: In this study, formalin fixed paraffin embedded blocks of 135 patients with brain glioma were selected. After tissue preparation for WT1 immunohistochemical evaluation, 2 tissue preparations were excluded due to unsatisfactory amount of tissue. Therefore, data about tissue specimens from 133 patients were included in statistical analysis. Results: In this study, out of 133 cases, 55 were astrocytomas, 42 were oligodendroglioma, 35 were glioblastoma and 1 was mixed oligoastrocytoma.WT1 immunohistochemistry expression was found in 127/6 (95.5%) samples. For the glioblastoma, WT1-expression significantly increased with patient’s age (p=0.05, table 3). WT1 expression and Ki67 proliferation index had prognostic effect in patients with brain glioma (p<0.05), and low expression mean survival was 48.5 months, high expression survival was 18.4 months respectively. Conclusion WT1 expression in Mongolian patients with brain glioma had significantly associated with several adverse prognostic indicators including high Ki67 proliferation index (high grade tumor) and high expression of WT1 and univariable survival.

BACKGROUND. Uterine cervical cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide. In our country, cervical cancer is second most common cancer in women. Uterine cervical smear (Papanicolaou test) remains an effective and widely used method for early detection of precancerous and cancerous lesions. Since 2002, the cervical smear was introduced to the clinical practice of our country. However, there is no study to performed external quality assurance of cervical smear until now. MATERIALS AND METHODS. We selected 20 glass slides of uterine cervical smear, the diagnosis was approved by histopathology. Each chosen slides were evaluated by four cytologists of A, B, C, D hospitals with hidden clinical information, independently. RESULTS. The sensitivity of A, B, C and D hospitals were 87.5%, 93.3%, 93.3%, and 93.3%, respectively. The specificity of A, B, C and D hospitals was 85.7%, 85.7%, 75%, and 66.6%, respectively. The diagnostic concordance of A, B, C and D was 70%, 75%, 50%, and 55%, respectively. The agreement of cytological diagnosis was moderate (kappa = 0.55), moderate (kappa = 0.43), fair (kappa = 0.37), and fair (kappa = 0.33) in A, B, C, and D hospitals, respectively. CONCLUSION: The external quality assurance in cytopathology is needed in Mongolia. The diagnostic concordance method would be applicable in our country to improve diagnostic agreement.

BACKGROUND. As of 2015 39,1% of all new cancer cases in Mongolia were HCC having the highest prevalence and it has increased by 4% to the previous year. (Health indicator – 2015, CHD). Although there are quite a lot researches have been done on general cause and impacting factors of HCC, the relevance between the mechanism leading to eventual cancer and the risk factors is still unknown yet. PURPOSE: To define the relevance of the beta-catenin and P53 expression in HCC with the risk factors of HCC in Mongolia. RESULT: 1. 50% of HCV infection in men is related with alcohol consumption and 40% alcohol combined with tobacco consumption. HBV infection has relevance of 46% with tobacco and 52,8% with alcohol consumption. 2. In the first phase of research in 21 HCC cases beta-catenin was identified in cell nucleus and cytoplasm after immunohistochemistry. CONCLUSION: 1. It was to observe that HCV infection is commonly combined with alcohol consumption in HCC cases. 2. Although beta-catenin expression was high in HCV, HBV infection and alcohol high risk group, the P53 expression was high among alcohol high risk group. Р < 0.05

Thyroid nodular lesions are the common clinical problem in the world. A variety of tests have been employed to separate benign from malignant thyroid nodules. These tests include isotope scanning and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Our research was based on the fact that the comparison of FNAC and thyroid isotope scan in thyroid nodule was not researched in Mongolia. Therefore, we want to evaluate the specimen adequacy of FNAC, and compare its result to thyroid isotope scanning in patients with thyroid nodule. The research was conducted on archive materials of FNAC and thyroid isotope scanning of patients with thyroid nodule who were treated in surgical department of The First Central Hospital from 2012 to 2015, and the statistic analyze was done by using SPSS 20 under the auspices of School of Pharmacy and Bio-Medicine,Department of pathology, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences. We have collected the FNAC of 807 patients, including 34 patients (4.2%) were males and 773 patients (95.8%) were females. FNA cytology results were interpreted as benign in 495 cases (61.3%), follicular lesion of undetermined significance in 31 cases (3.8%), follicular neoplasm in 9 cases (1.1%) suspicious in 17 cases (2.1%), malignant in 3 cases (0.4%), and unsatisfactory in 252 cases (31%). We have got the result of thyroid isotope scanning of 43 (5.32%) patients out of 807 cases. On thyroid scan, 18 patients (41.9%) having cold nodule were labeled as suspicious for malignancy, 25 patients (58.1%) had hot nodule. The FNA diagnosis of 25 patients with a hot nodule following: 1 patient (4%) with neoplasm, 17 patients (68%) with benign results, 6 patients (24%) had non-diagnostic. The FNA diagnosis of 18 patients (41.9%) with cold nodule following: 1 patient (5.5%) with follicular lesion of undetermined significance, 10 patient (55.5%) with benign, 5 patient (27.7%) with non-diagnostic, 2 patient (11.1%) had malignant. The FNAC results were interpreted as benign in 495 cases (61.3%), malignant in 3 cases (0.4%), and unsatisfactory in 252 cases (31%). Two patients out of 18 patients with cold nodule diagnosed as malignancy by FNAC. The sensitivity and specificity of thyroid isotope scanning was 96% and 16.6%, respectively.

BackgroundIn accordance with WHO investigation, most of the mental disorders onset in childhood and 20 percentof children (1 of fi ve) with mental and behavioral disorder currently. In 2005, by assessment of mentalhealth system in Mongolia (WHO-AIMS) it was concluded that special attention needs to be given todevelop professional competence and services in the area of child and adolescents mental health so itis a reason of the this study.AimTo early identify common emotional and behavioral problems among children and identify risk factorsfor itMethodsThe study was randomly selected 3500 child aged between from 4 to 17 years in 5 districts of Ulaanbaatarcity and 46 soums of 11 aimags of Mongolia.A main tool is Strengths and Diffi culties Questionnaire (SDQ) and included the 25-item child andparent versions were used to record each informant’s perception of four problem domains/subscales.SDQ was differently used child ages such as child aged 6-10 years used by parent version child agedbetween11-17 years used by both child and parent versions.ResultsOf 2920 child who participated in the study, 382 (13%) studied in kindergarten, 2423 (82.9%) school. Anaverage age of participants was 10.9±4.ConclusionThe abnormal emotional reaction was dominantly occurred in urban girls aged between from 6 to 10years and the abnormal behavioral reaction was dominantly occurred in urban boys aged between from6 to 15 years. The family relationship was a risk factor for developing emotional and behavioral problemsin child.