Objective. Today, obesity and depression are two major illnesses that are on the rise all over the world and threaten human health. This research was done to determine the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and depression among Ahvaz high school female students. Method. In a descriptive-analytical study using stratified random sampling, 400 female high school students in academic year of 2013-2014 were picked and their height and weight were measured. BMI was classified based on World Health Organization classification. To assess the severity of depression, Beck depression questionnaire was used. In order to analyze the data, descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation test were used. Results. In terms of BMI 9% of students were slim, 77% were at an acceptable level, and 14% were overweight. Also, the prevalence of depression was 86.20% major depression and 13.79% moderate depression for obese persons, 10.41% major depression and 70.83% moderate depression for overweight persons, 8.78% major depression and 12.97% moderate depression for normal weight persons, and 9% moderate depression for slim persons. The relationship between BMI and depression among high school students is positive and significant (P < 0.001; r = 0.555). Conclusion. There is a positive and significant relationship between BMI and the severity of depression among Ahvaz high school female students.

BackgroundThe main source of information about children’s masturbation is more on the basis of case reports. Due to the lack of consistent and accurate information.ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine prevalence and underlying factors of masturbation and its comorbidity with psychiatric disorders in children.MethodsIn this descriptive-analytical study, among the children referred to the Pediatrics Clinic of Psychiatric Ward, Golestan Hospital, Ahvaz, Southwest Iran, 98 children were selected by convenience sampling in 2014. Disorders were diagnosed by clinical interview based on the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Psychiatric Disorders (DSM-IV) and the Child Symptom Inventory-4 (CSI-4). We also used a questionnaire, containing demographic information about the patient and their family and also other data. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test with SPSS software version 16.ResultsOf the children who participated in this study (most of whom were boys), 31.6% suffered from masturbation. The phobias (p=0.002), separation anxiety disorder (p=0.044), generalized anxiety disorder (p=0.037), motor tics (p=0.033), stress disorder (p=0.005), oppositional defiant disorder (p=0.044), thumb sucking (p=0.000) and conduct disorder (p=0.001) were associated with masturbation.ConclusionMasturbation was common in children referred to psychiatric clinic, and may be more associated with oppositional defiant disorder, or conduct disorder, some anxiety disorders, motor tics and other stereotypical behavior. Authors recommended more probing for psychiatric disorders in children with unusual sexual behavior.

Background. This cross-sectional study evaluated rate of reported ADHD symptoms among male preschoolers in Ahvaz by different informants and rate of their agreement. Method. One hundred ninety-two 5-6-year old boys from nine kindergartens in Ahvaz were selected. Teacher and parents' Conners ADHD rating scales were used. Findings. For 133 children, questionnaires were returned. Prevalence of children with positive questionnaire was 24.06%, with only parent questionnaire was 4.51%, with only teacher questionnaire was 17.29%, and with both informants was 2.25%. Teacher-parent agreement was low (P = 0.0001). Conclusions. ADHD symptoms are frequently reported by informants and may be more reported by teachers than parents and teacher-parent agreement may be low. Interview with different informants and observation of child behavior are needed for documentation of diagnosis.

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This study was designed to compare the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) among 3 to 7-year-old strabismic and nonstrabismic children in an Iranian population.In this cross-sectional study, 108 preschool children with equal numbers of strabismic/non-strabismic disorder (age 3–7 years) were randomly selected from exceptional strabismus clinics of Ahvaz and were evaluated with the preschool and primary scale of intelligence versions of Wechsler (WPPSI).In the current study, 108 children were evaluated. In strabismic patients the mean performance, verbal and total IQ were 89.46±19.79, 89.57±21.57 and 91.54±22.08 respectively. These mean scores in normal children were 91.89±47.53, 87.56±15.6 and 89.96±17.62consecuently. The results showed that these three different IQ subscales were not significantly different among 3 to 7 years old strabismic and nonstrabismic children ((P>0.05 for all comparisons). There was no significant difference in IQ between two sexes (P>0.05) while Persian tribe children had greater IQ score compared to other tribes (P<0.05). Also, higher paternal educational status of children related to higher IQ score. IQ score was better in combined deviations and was higher in exotropes than esotropes; however, these differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05).In this evaluation, we did not found a significant negative interference of strabismus on IQ score of preschool children. It can be concluded that paternal educational level and tribe have a significant effect on intelligent quotient, while this is not the case on sex and ocular deviation.